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Recently the Cody Police Department (CPD) has received reports of scammers identifying themselves as members of the CPD. Scam tactics continually change, but an example of one recently being used is: …
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Recently the Cody Police Department (CPD) has received reports of scammers identifying themselves as members of the CPD. Scam tactics continually change, but an example of one recently being used is: Scammer identifies themselves as a Cody police officer and accuses the victim of not reporting for jury duty and is being fined, or the victim missed a court date and there is a warrant for their arrest unless a payment is made.
HOW IT WORKS
Scammers will often spoof authentic phone numbers and names and use fake credentials of well-known government and law enforcement agencies. Scammers will use an urgent and aggressive tone, refusing to speak to or leave a message with anyone other than their targeted victim; and will urge victims not to tell anyone else, including family, friends, or financial institutions, about what is occurring.
Payment is demanded in various forms, with the most prevalent being prepaid cards, wire transfers, and cash, sent by mail or inserted into cryptocurrency ATMs. Victims are asked to read prepaid card numbers over the phone or text a picture of the card. Mailed cash will be hidden or packaged to avoid detection by normal mail scanning devices. Wire transfers are often sent overseas so funds almost immediately vanish.
PROTECT YOURSELF
Law enforcement authorities will never contact members of the public by telephone to demand any form of payment, or to request personal or sensitive information. Any legitimate investigation or legal action will be done in person or by official letter. Always ask for credentials to validate identity.
• No legitimate law enforcement or government official will request payment via prepaid cards or cryptocurrency ATM.
• Never give personally identifying information to anyone without verifying the person is who they say they are.
IF YOU ARE A VICTIM
Cease all contact with the scammers immediately.
Notify your financial institutions and safeguard any financial accounts.
Contact your local law enforcement and file a police report.
File a complaint with the FBI IC3 at ic3.gov.
Be sure to keep any financial transaction information, including prepaid cards and banking records and all telephone, text, or email communications.
