POLICE Alert:
It has come to the attention of the Los Alamos County Police Department that a male using various names is posing as a police officer of Los Alamos County, Santa Fe County and other police agencies. The male is calling residences, usually home phones, using different stories coercing the people he is calling into transferring money to him over the phone or computer.
The common false stories he is using include:
- “You have missed court or mandatory jury duty and now have a warrant for your arrest.”
- “We have your son/daughter/grandchild/spouse in custody and in order to get him/her out of jail you need to send a gift card or gift card numbers to pay for the bond.”
He also poses as a relative asking for money to get out of jail, because he was in a car with drugs. The male says to not disclose this to any other person. A police officer will never tell you to not disclose information.
The male says where to go to pick up gift cards, which is usually a CVS, Walgreens or Smith’s, and to purchase a card that has numbers on the back of the card. He asks for those numbers and once he has them the money that was on the card is gone. This male has fraudulently acquired more than $10,000 from these cards.
At no time will a police officer ask anyone for a payment. The court house is the only place that will accept payment for fees or bonds; GIFT CARDS are NOT a form of payment for any level of government.
Anyone receiving a call of this nature is advised either to hang up, ask for his information and tell him you are going to verify his information with the Los Alamos County Police Department, or tell him he has the wrong number. Call the Los Alamos County Police immediately if you receive this phone call.
If you do ask for his information, he will give you a number that does come back to White Rock or Los Alamos. These numbers should not, under any circumstances, be called to verify this individual’s information. The ONLY number you should use to contact the Los Alamos County Police Department is 505.662.8222. This is the Los Alamos County Dispatch Center phone number. They can verify any officer or employee with the Los Alamos Police Department. If it is more comfortable to speak with a police officer, one will be dispatched to your house.
Los Alamos County Police Department has spoken with the banks in Los Alamos and White Rock regarding this situation. The banks may be asking individuals who are withdrawing unusual amounts of money from their accounts, what the money will be used for, this is to protect their customers from fraud. Do not take this as the bank trying to impede in your personal financial affairs, they are not.
At NO TIME will any Los Alamos County employee ask for money or payment for anything. Contact the police if you have any questions concerning this situation. Verify everything through the Los Alamos County Police Department, 2500 Trinity Dr. Ste B, Los Alamos, 505.662.8222.
