HOPATCONG BOROUGH, NJ (Sussex County) – The Hopatcong Borough Police Department says it’s receiving complaints about an arrest warrant scam.
Officials say the scammer is spoofing the police department’s non-emergency phone number, 973-398-5000, to show as the originating caller. When the call is answered, the scammers are stating they are from a law enforcement organization, most recently the sheriff’s department and that there is an arrest warrant for the person answering the phone.
Often times, the scammer will tell you bail must be posted and may ask for it several different ways; gift cards, credit card numbers, cash only, etc. There are various applications where individuals can change the outgoing phone number to show any phone number of their choosing, police said.
“The Hopatcong Police Department will never call you and ask for bail to be posted for your warrant or anyone else’s warrant over the phone. We will never ask for bail to be posted via gift card nor will we send a courier service to pick up bail,” police said.
If you feel suspicious about a phone call from any individual claiming to be from the Hopatcong Police Department, they recommend you hang up and dial their non-emergency phone number at 973-398-5000. A dispatcher will be able to connect you to a police officer who will be able to confirm if the phone call was legitimate or not, police said.
Other common signs of a phone scam are callers demanding payment in Green Dot gift cards, Western Union payments, or where the caller instructs the individual to not hang-up the phone, police said.
For more information regarding phone scams visit, https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/phone-scams.
