Phone scammers pose as Winter Park police

Scam artists are going to great lengths to prey upon Winter Park residents — even posing as the Winter Park Police Department.
Officers received a call on July 31 from a Winter Park resident who received a phone call that appeared to be a scam. The caller claimed to be from the Winter Park Police Department and said the call recipient owed money to the IRS.
A Winter Park police officer came to the house to speak with the victim, who received the same exact call moments later.
“It’s funny, because the person called back, and the officer talked with him at that time,” Winter Park Police Sgt. Garvin McComie said. “I guess they didn’t get the fact that it was a real police officer talking with them, so they were continuing on with the charade that they were the police.”
Officers still are investigating the call.
The call is an example of the latest trend in phone scams targeting unsuspecting seniors. Scam artists are using technology that can disguise an incoming call as another phone number.
McComie said police have been aware of this technology but had never seen a caller posing as the police department.
“It was from a non-emergency number, so apparently what the person did was disguise their number as the Winter Park Police number, claiming that they were the police and stating that the victim had owed money to the IRS,” McComie said. “We would never do that. That’s an indicator right there that it’s probably a scam.”
Phone scams happen constantly, but McComie said police see the biggest uptick in phone scams around tax time when residents are filing their income taxes. Scammers will pretend to be the IRS and request personal information such as Social Security numbers and bank account pins.
Some callers pretend to be the utility company threatening to turn off power or water if a bill isn’t paid, while others pose as workers for a sweepstakes.
Many callers often will try to convince a resident to make some type of payment through VISA gift cards and demand that they are purchased and mailed to a certain address, McComie said.
“That’s the big thing now, and that’s obviously another indicator that it’s a scam,” he said. “I don’t know of any company that would have you pay in gift cards.”
As for general tips and advice, McComie warned you should never give out any personal information over the phone. The caller being persistent is another red flag, he said.
“If there’s any questions about whether it’s real or not, you can simply hang up the phone and then call that number back and see what you get,” McComie said. “See if you get the actual number. If it’s any type of government agency or company, just call them back. If you don’t get that number, it’s more than likely a scam.”
Residents are always welcome to call the police as well if they receive any suspicious calls, McComie said.