Youngstown Police warn of scammers impersonating YPD employees

Reports of phone scams from people pretending to be from the Youngstown Police Department are becoming more frequent, according to YPD Chief of Detectives Captain Jason Simon.

The captain announced in a news release that over the last several days, the department has received calls from people who say they are being “contacted by the Youngstown Police Department” and are being asked to pay fines over the phone.

In every case, says Simon, the phone number being called from spoofs an actual number assigned to the Youngstown Police Department.  The callers identify themselves with the name of someone who is an actual YPD employee.

Here’s how the scam works, according to Simon:

The caller will typically introduce themselves (again, using a real employee’s name) and tell the recipient that they owe fines, have a warrant for their arrest, that they’ve been indicted, or other legal jargon meant to confuse and catch the recipient off-guard. In no instance will the Youngstown Police Department, or any government agency, call to collect money over the phone, ask you to purchase gift cards, request personal identifying information or pictures of your ID or passport, or other such action.

 Captain Simon tells 21 News that although investigators typically call victims and witnesses in cases, officers won’t ask for anything monetary or ask for personal identifiers that Police can readily obtain on their own.

 If you receive one of these calls and are in doubt as to its legitimacy, Simon advises that you tell the caller that you will call back the Youngstown Police Department (or whatever agency they are pretending to be from) and ask for them by name. It’s a way you can be sure you are speaking with and providing information to an actual employee of the agency.