Scammers pretend to be Pasco police sergeant to steal personal information
Pasco police Sgt. Dave Allen is not calling random people.
He said so himself in a Facebook post.
“You’re not likely to have the real Sgt. Allen call you,” he wrote in a post on the Pasco police Faceook page.
The sergeant is part of a team of officers who handle the department’s social media sites.
Pasco is the latest police agency to have scammers try to pose as one of their officers.
Scam artists are calling random people pretending to be Allen. The impersonator says they have an important document, but need you to call 509-492-5678.
The scam call appears to come from the Pasco Police Department, and uses the actual office number of 509-545-3421.
“We’re not sure what the scam is, but we imagine that somebody at 509-492-5678 will be fishing for personal info from you,” Allen wrote. “Do not return those calls.”
This is the latest scam to borrow an officer’s name in an effort to lend credibility to a fraud. Kennewick police warned people in mid-May that scam artists were using their officers’ names to shake people down.
In that scam, they claimed the person had a warrant and needed to pay it off immediately.
If you’re in doubt, you can reach any Tri-City police agency by calling 509-628-0333.