A fraudster claiming to be a Seattle cop bilked a man out of hundreds of dollars earlier this month.
The scam started on September 3rd, when the victim received a call from a man claiming to be at “Seattle Police Headquarters” called the victim about an old loan.
The suspect told the victim he had fallen behind on then loan, and said if he didn’t pay up officers would come to his house that night and haul him off to jail.
The suspect then told the victim—who was terrified he would end up in jail—he could call a second man working in the “Attorney General’s office” to settle the debt and provided him with a phone number.
When the victim called the other number, the second suspect offered to cut the victim a break on his debt if he paid a portion of it that night.
The second suspect then sent the victim to a convenience store, where he purchased $600 worth of “Green Dot Moneypak” reloadable debit cards, which are frequently used in fraud cases.
The victim then called back the second suspect, provided him with the card numbers, and made arrangements to pay the rest of his debt.
A week later, when the scammers called the victim back and demanded more money, the victim called police.
SPD’s Fraud and Financial Crimes unit is now reviewing the case.
Remember: Seattle police will never call you because you’re late on paying a loan.