The Naperville Police Department is alerting the community to a scam involving Federal Trade Commission impersonators, the department shared in a Facebook post.
According to the FTC, scammers are claiming to be officials from their organization, informing callers that their registered phone number is being used to commit scams in another country. The scam callers also threaten to deactivate the person’s phone number if they don’t comply.
Scammers take lengths to prove authenticity
The FTC noted that the scam callers have gone to great lengths to make the scam seem legitimate. They will read off a fake badge ID and transfer the call to a fake police officer to file a report.
The scammers will try to prove the call is real by directing people online to call back the police department directly if they seem hesitant. The FTC said that this method appears to verify that the call is real, but someone involved in the scam will pick up.
Scammers on the police line will ask for personal information for the “report” and say that the call should be kept secret. Eventually, the scammer will claim that the person is under arrest because of the scams associated with their phone number, and that if the person does not send money for a security deposit, they will have to go to another country.
FTC advises how to know if it’s a scam
The FTC said that all of these steps are part of the scam.
They said that a real FTC official would never threaten to disconnect a phone, ensure the conversation remains secret, or “verify” their identity by texting a photo of their ID badge.
Scams can be reported to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
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