The City of Falls Church Police wants community members to be aware of a phone scam that is active in the area.

Officers have received reports from community members who stated that callers contact them claiming to be members of a police department or sheriff’s department. The law enforcement impersonator may refer to the community member by name, tell the community member the call is being recorded, and tell the community member they missed a court appearance or jury duty or state they need to send money or a warrant will be issued for their arrest or they may turn themselves in to jail.

Sometimes scams such as these will include spoofing a legitimate police agency phone number and using a real name of a law enforcement officer in an attempt to gain the trust of the victim. No government agency of any kind takes gift cards as payment.

Persons receiving such a similar call should disconnect without providing any information or taking any instructions from the caller.