In a bold move; scammers have begun to impersonate the police. It starts by you getting a phone call saying someone close to you is in jail, the scammers impersonating the police tell you to pay up to bail the person out of jail. Although most people might be disbelieving – when they see their caller ID shows from their local police department, their skepticism starts to fade.
With the scammers it is always a simple number’s game, if they call enough people they are likely to find someone with a wild nephew, cousin, or other relative who could easily get into trouble with the law. So if you happen to have a relative who is a bit of a trouble-maker, you might keep listening.
Your are told by the caller to put the money on a prepaid credit card and give them the card number. This immediately sets off your instincts about being scammed because you know that law enforcement or the government does not tell people to pay with prepaid cards because doing so is like paying with cash – once your money is sent; you cannot get it back.
But then there is still the caller ID? Well, it is not that hard to call someone and make it look like the phone number is coming from the police, local government or anyone else, including your own phone number, scammers are very good at doing this. Never trust caller ID. Hang-up and contact the police or other entity that is calling you direct, and you will find out that it is a scam.