Albany Police warns citizens of increased scam calls

ALBANY, Ga. – Across Dougherty County, people are receiving calls from scammers claiming to be with the Albany Police Department. An issue internal affairs says is problematic not just for those being scammed, but Albany officers as well.

Internal Affairs Lieutenant Pritesh Patel says scammers have been posing as named members of the Albany Police…

And, that they’ve been finding their names through court documents as well as Facebook.

Patel says this is a violation of privacy for Albany officers.

“It definitely concerns us for our officers’ safety, and safety of their family members. Because we don’t know how much information is out there regarding the officers’ addresses, family member’s names, family member’s phone numbers that these scammers get a hold of…” said Lt. Pritesh Patel, Internal Affairs, APD.

When it comes to the content of these scam calls, Lieutenant Patel says the scammers have been following the same script.

“…And, basically they’re asking people for their identity information, they’re asking people for their bank information or advising them that there’s a warrant out for their arrest and that they can mitigate this by paying some dues…” Lt. Patel.

What Lieutenant Patel tells us is that in addition to spoofing numbers and names, they’re posing as more than just Albany officers.

“Typically what’s being said is the perpetrators are identifying themselves as local police officers. Even the numbers they’re using seem like local numbers. They’re identifying themselves as members of the Albany Police Department, the sheriff’s office, the courthouse…” said Lt. Patel.

Lieutenant Patel also wanted to pass along a good rule of thumb when dealing with scammers…

With a big red flag being if they’re asking you for your date of birth.

“The local police or any officer will not start or engage in a conversation like that. So, if they’re investigating something like that legitimately, then they would already have that information. So, that should be a clue. Once the conversation goes to ‘hey, is this your date of birth?’ or ‘is this your social security number?’ that should be the clue. That should be the time to hang up or try to get more information,” said Lt. Patel.

While Albany Police continues to try and crack down on any fraudsters posing as police, they want to encourage anyone who believes they’re being targeted by these scammers to talk to law enforcement.

Lieutenant Patel also said during the interview that these scammers will also ask for payment, and that police will never directly call ahead about a warrant for arrest.

Brian Roche reporting.

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