Phone scams impersonating police on the rise
Special to The Clinton Courier
The Clinton Police Department (CPD) is experiencing an increase in complaints by victims who have been receiving phone calls from scammers impersonating CPD.
During this scam, the caller, posing as a Clinton police officer, calls the victim by manipulating the caller ID to reflect the CPD non-emergency phone number, 601-924-5252. The caller accuses the victim of owing money for old fines and informs the victim a warrant has been issued for their arrest unless the fines are rectified.
The caller asks for banking information to pay the fine and, in most cases, tells the victim to obtain a Green Dot Money Pack card, which is then used to scam them out of thousands of dollars.
The scammers even have a fake answering service identifying themselves as law enforcement officials with the Clinton Police Department, asking for the victim to leave a message with contact information so their call can be returned.
The Clinton Police Department will NEVER ask for personal banking information or money over the phone. If a Clintonian receives a call like the incident reported above, the resident is advised to treat the call as a scam and notify law enforcement.
CPD is working to end calls of this nature and other scams used against the citizens of the City of Clinton. Currently, the best attack against scammers is to educate and inform. All citizens are encouraged to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity.
