The Dalton Police Department is warning of phone scammers posing as police.
A phone scammer called a Dalton resident on Tuesday evening claiming to be from the Dalton Police Department. The scammer’s number appeared on caller ID as the police department’s phone number, and the scammer attempted to get the victim’s social security number and other sensitive information. Fortunately, the victim in this case didn’t fall for the trick and instead reported the situation to police and investigators are warning the public to be on the lookout for this scam. Police departments or other government agencies will never call you to ask for your social security number or banking information.
The scam phone call reported to police Tuesday night was made in the evening after normal business hours. The victim reported that her phone rang with the caller ID displaying “706-278-9085” which is the Dalton Police Department’s main phone line. The scammer, who the victim said had a Hispanic accent, told the victim that her social security number had been compromised in Texas and had been used to open multiple fraudulent credit cards. The scammer then asked for the victim’s social security number for confirmation. Fortunately, the victim did not give her full social security number. The scammer kept talking and told the victim to stop interrupting every time she attempted to ask questions. At one point, the scammer told the victim she was being “transferred” to another person posing as an investigator from Murray County to make the scam appear more real. Finally, the scammers threatened the victim that she would be arrested if she didn’t follow their instructions. The victim cut off the call.
This scam is not new, but it’s the first time it’s been reported in Dalton in the last few years. It’s fairly simple for a phone scammer to fake the caller ID to make any number appear when they call and scam callers often attempt to pose as police or other government agencies to trick victims into giving up their personal information or to send scammers money to settle fake fines or settle fake warrants. Police or other government agencies do not call you to ask for personal information like social security numbers or bank account information. Fines aren’t collected over the phone on cold calls. And police or government agencies don’t instruct people to make specific types of payments for fines like instructing people to purchase prepaid credit cards or gift cards.
If you ever receive a call from the Dalton Police Department, simply get the name of the person calling and hang up and call the police department back to confirm it. The police department’s number is 706 278-9085, and you can also contact the 911 center’s non-emergency line at 706 370-4900 to confirm the identity of the caller. If the caller claims to be from another police department or agency, the contact numbers for those agencies are typically available online.
Be wary of anyone that you do not know calling and asking for your personal information.