Scam Alert! Scammers Targeting Amarillo Pretend To Be Police

It seems like a never-ending revolving door of scams is hitting us in Amarillo, Texas. Every time you get online there's another warning or reminder from law enforcement about scammers hitting our area trying to separate us from our hard-earned cash. Recently, another version of a classic made its way to Yellow City.

No, That's Not The Police Calling You Demanding Money

In a recent post on social media, the Amarillo Police Department reminded everyone that they will never call you demanding money. It's not how they operate. They're not going to call you on the phone and threaten you Instead of using jury duty or warrants in the scam, this time they're taking a different approach. Now, they're claiming you're involved in illegal online activities.

This should be a pretty easy one to catch considering illegal online activities take a little know-how to pull off, so you would be aware of the fact that you've done something illegal. You're not going to accidentally click a button and commit identity theft or something like that. That's red flag number three. The first one is the police calling you and making threats. The second is demanding money.

What To Do If You Get A Call Like This?

Hang up. Simple and easy. Don't listen or argue. Just hang up. If you're on the fence and need some kind of confirmation that you're not crazy, call the Amarillo Police Department and ask about the phone call you received. The scammers may use a "spoofed" phone number, which means they've made their number look like it's coming from the police department. Calling the police department to double-check is a great idea to make sure you've really heard from the real police department.

With tax returns going out, I would be willing to bet we're going to see an uptick in the number of scams hitting our area. You've already worked hard for that money coming back to you; don't let some scammer rob you of it.