The Odessa Police Department (OPD) is warning residents about a phone scam in which the caller claims to be an officer with the law enforcement agency. OPD said it has fielded numerous complaints in relation to the calls in question.
“The caller advises the victim that they have a warrant and will ask the victim for their social security number or other personal information,” the department said in an Aug. 9 Facebook post. “The caller also advises the victim that they owe money and that they need to stay on the line or that there could be consequences.”
According to OPD, citizens who receive such calls are being lured into a scam. The agency said that officers will never request payment over the phone, urging the public to not provide personal information and to just end the call.
Daily Mail reports that data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) show scam texts in 2022 have caused Americans to lose more than $326 million. Per the media outlet, Texas residents should refrain from answering from 469 numbers, according to a BeenVerified study.
“Consumers must remain vigilant when it comes to phone calls or text messages,” BeenVerified Vice President of Security Robert Lowry said in the report. “Never disclose banking details or personal data to anyone over a call or message. “If in doubt, hang up and independently find official contact details and reach out to verify,” Lowry said.
The FTC said on its website that aside from simply hanging up, people should consider using call-blocking or call-labeling. It additionally warns that Caller ID can’t be fully trusted as scammers tend to use spoof numbers with a person’s area code in an effort to make taking the call easier. The Do Not Call Registry is available to anyone who doesn’t want to be contacted by telemarketers.