A renewed warning about scammers impersonating law enforcement after a Philadelphia resident reported that she was contacted by someone who claimed to be from the police department. NBC10’s Yukare Nakayama has more.
A number of residents in Philadelphia have reported getting a phone call from someone claiming to be from the police department and demanding thousands of dollars for missing a subpoena.
One of those residents shared her story with NBC10 after she got a call on Monday from, what looked like, a legitimate number from the District 39 Police Department.
Paula Rosenberg spent over half an hour on the phone with the person claiming to be from the department before she noticed that something wasn't right and her instinct saved her money.
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"I thought someone was dead and they were like, 'no, there's a warrant out for your arrest for failure to comply with a material witness subpoena for a grand jury,'" Paula explained. “The whole thing just sounded kind of sketchy but when the police call you and tell you that you are going to be under arrest, I listened.”
The call lasted over 40 minutes as Paula asked the person lots of questions while writing down citation numbers and notes from their conversation that weren't adding up.
Then, suddenly, Paula said she knew it was a scam because she got a text message that said she had to take $8,000 for bond to deposit into a Bitcoin account at a "bodega."
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The Federal Trade Commission calls this type of call a spoofing and imposter scam.
In 2024, imposter scams were the number one type of fraud committed with the Philadelphia Police Department saying District 39 reporting about a dozen similar calls this last Tuesday.
The Philadelphia Police Department is reminding everyone that they do not call individuals for warrants and they will never ask for money in order to drop a warrant.
Police are advising anyone who has received a similar call to file a police report.
