Northeast News
Oct. 25, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Within the past week, the Kansas City Police have heard from about 20 people who said scammers called them to demand money, claiming an affiliation with KCPD.

According to a press release from the KCPD, the scammers are “spoofing” KCPD’s main administrative phone number – 816-234-5000 – to show up on potential victims’ caller IDs.

The scam has been around for some time and involves a suspect calling a potential victim claiming that money is needed to clear something up – an overdue bill, back taxes – or else a warrant will be issued for their arrest. The caller demands the potential victim to send money through an online account or orders them to get a prepaid debit card to resolve the issue and provide the card’s numbers to the caller.

People receiving the recent calls have reported the caller had a Middle Eastern accent. Some also have reported they have received multiple calls from the spoofed 234-5000 number in the same day.

Residents should be aware that KCPD members never will contact them in such a manner to demand money, nor will any other reputable organization. If you receive such a call, do not provide any financial or personal information. Hang up. Some of the scammers have been persistent and called repeatedly. You can report the number as a harassing caller to your phone company, who may be able to block the caller. You also can choose to make a police report by calling or going to any patrol division station.