The Killeen Police Department General Crimes said they are asking residents to be aware of telephone and internet scams that are scamming residents out of thousands of dollars.
Killeen Police said they are aware of an increase scams in the last few weeks.
Police said the scams are as follows:
-
Someone posing as an IRS employee calls and tells the victim that they will be arrested unless they pay a fine.
-
The scammer may advise there is a warrant for the person's arrest and it can be stopped by paying a certain amount.
-
The scammer will even transfer the call to a supervisor if asked.
-
The victim may receive another phone call while speaking with the scammer, advising they are a police officer with the Killeen Police Department. In many cases, they have spoofed one of the main Killen PD telephone numbers (254-501-8830) in order to appear legitimate.
- The scammer requests gift cards ranging in the amount of $4,000.00 to $8,500 or more from retailers such as Walgreens, Home Depot, Best Buy and Target. The gift cards are usually Green Dot, iTunes, Steam, Visa and many other ones.
- The scammer stays on the phone with the victim and after each gift card is purchased, and they have the victim supply the card number and pin number over the phone.
- The scammers then redeem the code and abscond with the victim’s money.
Killeen Police also said scammers are targeting the elderly.
Police said that government agencies do not solicit money over the phone, and legitimate agencies do not ask for payments to be made through a gift card.
Copyright 2017 KXXV. All rights reserved.
