According to Roy PD, scammers have been calling individuals, identifying themselves as police officers and threatening to arrest them unless immediate payment is made.

“Typically, it’s letting the person know that they have a warrant for their arrest; I believe our last one was for missing jury duty,” Roy Police Sgt. Josh Taylor told the Standard-Examiner. “They were calling, saying they were from the Weber County Sheriff’s Office and that the person needed to give them money.”

Taylor said scammers often demand payment in the form of gift cards or cryptocurrency while giving victims the impression that they’ll be arrested otherwise. It’s a scam that can be carried out over an extended period of time.

“A lot of times when somebody gives them money, they’ll keep going with the scam and say, ‘Well, no, it’s not enough,’ or, ‘We need more now,’ because of one reason or another,” he said. “So, they try to keep that going as long as they can until the person finally realizes and stops sending money to them.”

Because scammers can easily access personal details like names and addresses online, in addition to making their phone numbers appear legitimate, these calls can be convincing. However, Taylor advised that law enforcement will never make demands of payment over the phone.

He added that the best course of action if a scam call is received is to hang up immediately, and under no circumstances should any personal information be given.

“I think the most important thing is, if it sounds suspicious, just hang up,” Taylor said.

Scam calls can be reported to the Internet Crime Complaint Center by filing a report online at https://www.ic3.gov/. Additionally, Taylor noted that local law enforcement agencies can provide help.

“You can always call us directly, either at our office or through dispatch, and we’ll try to help you verify as best we can,” he said.

Of course, scams don’t come solely via phone or email. Those who use online marketplaces to make purchases could become victims as well, even if they’re meeting sellers out in the real world.

“A lot of people are doing more online sales and exchanges in public,” Taylor said. “There have been different stories of people getting robbed or getting beat up.”

In order to keep residents safe during these meet-ups, Roy PD provides two parking stalls at the Roy City Municipal Center that are marked as an exchange zone. These stalls are monitored 24/7 by surveillance cameras.

“It’s a good place to go and do exchanges, especially during the day — it’s very well traveled,” Taylor added. “But even at night, our officers are in and out of the parking lot.”