Manassas Police bulletin on new kind of phone scams involving “police impersonators”

Residents can rest assured that Manassas City Police does not act on behalf of any federal agency for the purpose of collecting payment or serving federal warrants for delinquent accounts.

Even so, Manassas City Police has received reports this week of scammers calling local residents and claiming to be an officer or representative of the court. As is common with most phone scams, the scammer threatened to take legal action against the resident unless he settled his bill or turned himself in to the police.

Manassas City Police regularly takes reports from residents whom were called by someone claiming to be from the Social Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the U.S. Department of Treasury, or even a utility company.

Last August, MCPD released this awareness video of a message that contains several red flags that indicate the call is a scam.

Red flags suggesting a call might be a scam include:

A caller who insists that the resident needs to settle or update an account;

 A caller who demands immediate payment, often in the form of some type of prepaid method; or

 A caller who threatens to take legal action against the resident if he or she fails to pay or provide some type of financial or personal information.

There is no need to return phone calls you suspect are scams; in fact, it is best that you do not.

Instead, hang up the phone, and never give out any personal or financial information if you did not initiate contact.

If you ever have a concern about your government taxes, benefits, bank account, or even your utility bill, contact the organization that deals with that matter directly.

If you suspect a scam, report it to Manassas City Police by calling 703-257-8000. Then, submit a consumer complaint to the Federal Trade Commission by calling 202-326-2222 or visiting ftc.gov/complaint. Scam alerts are updated regularly on the Federal Trade Commission’s website.