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The Tyler Police Department is warning residents, particularly senior citizens, about an ongoing phone scam involving callers who impersonate law enforcement officers and pressure victims into sending money.

According to the police, scammers are falsely identifying themselves as members of local, state or federal law enforcement agencies. In some cases, they instruct victims to withdraw money to purchase gift cards, Green Dot cards, or deposit funds into cryptocurrency ATMs such as Bitcom machines.

In a recent case that was reported to Tyler police, the victim was contacted by a person claiming to be with the sheriff’s office, telling her she had a federal warrant for her arrest for missing jury duty. They even provided the victim with a copy of a fake arrest warrant from a U.S. District Court, bearing her name. The victim received the call from a “spoofed” phone number, indicating it was from Smith County 911. A person identified themselves as a sergeant and gave a badge number to further the scam. They told her they would arrest her if she didn’t pay the money. They even connected the caller to their supervisor, adding another person to help try and legitimize the scam, the police department said. 

Police emphasize that no legitimate law enforcement agency will ever demand payment over the phone to resolve a warrant or avoid arrest. They warn residents to never purchase gift cards or deposit money into cryptocurrency ATMs at the request of a caller or email sender.

“These cases are extremely challenging for local law enforcement due to their sophistication and measures the scammers use to hide their identity,” the Tyler Police Department said in a statement. “They are commonly perpetrated by people in foreign countries, making the identification of offenders even more difficult. Scammers are always changing their tactics and can target anyone.”

Authorities urge anyone who receives a suspicious call asking for money to hang up immediately and contact their financial institution or local law enforcement to verify the legitimacy of the claim.