The message on voicemail said a warrant would be issued for his arrest if he did not call back immediately. Unfortunately the caller, who claimed he was a deputy from the Indiana State Police warrant division, didn’t realize that the person he called back was an actual detective with the Indiana State Police.
It seems as quickly as you hear about one scam it disappears and another one starts. The latest scam that is circulating involves an individual claiming to be from a law enforcement agency. The scammer typically threatens to arrest the victim if they don’t pay the fines for some fabricated crime or debt. To make matters worse the crooks often have some personal information about the victim, which make them seem more legitimate.
Recently the state police have received complaints about this scam. A state police detective investigating the complaint turned the tables on the scammer and called him. The man claiming to work for the Indiana State Police didn’t answer so the detective left a message and the man called back. The scammer proceeded to tell the detective that he had a warrant for his arrest. He explained that in order to take care of it and avoid being arrested at work the detective would need to buy two green dot money packs for $1,000 and then call him back with the account number. The conversation that lasted more than 30 minutes eventually ended after the scammer was fully convinced that he was talking to the police.
The investigation in this case is ongoing but more than likely it will turn into a dead end, commented Sergeant Trent Smith. In this scam case as with most of them the calls are originating from cell phones all over the US and tracking down the 21st century con artist is no easy task. The state police feel that a well informed public is the best defense in combating scammers and remind everyone that an influx in this type of crime is often seen during the holiday season.
