The Concord Police Department is warning residents to beware of scammers claiming to be local police officers and demanding money.
Someone has been calling residents with a spoofed phone number that appears to be originating from the City of Concord, according to a press release from Detective Lieutenant Marc P. McGonagle.
McGonagle wrote that the scammer has told victims that they need to pay cash to avoid arrest.
“The Concord Police Department does not ‘settle’ warrants in this fashion nor would any member of the Concord Police Department contact a member of the public to solicit money,” McGonagle wrote.
Concord Police is asking anyone who receives these calls to report them to the police department by calling (603) 225-8600.
Similar warnings have been issued by other law enforcement agencies around the state.
Last month, Merrimack County Sheriff David Croft announced that people should be wary of calls from people pretending to be from the Merrimack County Sheriff’s Office. Those scam callers would request money for fake fines and tell people that they could face arrest if they didn’t pay.
Croft said the calls dropped off soon after his office spread the word about the scam in March. However, he said the same scammers could have moved on to impersonating other law enforcement officers.
Attempts to find the source of the calls have been fruitless so far, in part because scammers switch up their phone numbers, Croft said.
“We have had no success,” he said. “These things are really hard because most of these folks use burner phones.”