Police Department

Spokane Resident Victimized By Telephone Scam

Ofc. John O'Brien, PIO

Saturday, September 28, 2019 at 4:10 p.m.

A Spokane resident was contacted by a phone scammer claiming to be with the Drug Enforcement Agency. The community member was deceived out of several thousand dollars.

The scammer’s story claimed to involve a cocaine bust with the threat that the victim’s home, bank accounts, etc. would be seized if they did not send money via gift cards. The scammer was able to provide personal details of the victim’s family which may have led to the credibility. The scammer directed the victim to not reach out to local law enforcement.

The victim withdrew a significant amount of cash from their bank account in the form of a cashier’s check. The victim also purchased gift cards. Fortunately the cashier’s check was never sent to the scammer which reduced the loss to this victim.

The Spokane Police Department would like to remind the Spokane community that we, nor any law enforcement agency will call you and request money due to an alleged crime involvement. Law enforcement will NEVER ask you to purchase gift cards or obtain a cashier’s check from you financial institution and mail them to any location.

If you ever receive a phone call like this, or any other circumstance where the caller claims you or someone in your family may be involved in a crime, and the only remedy is to send money…..DON’T. Please call your local law enforcement agency before ever following the directions of an unknown phone caller.

Never give out your social security number, passwords or any banking information to anyone over the phone.

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