Caller Impersonated Police, Scammed Resident Out Of $2K: Darien PD

DARIEN, CT — A resident recently fell victim to a phone scam in which the caller pretended to be a police officer who was asking for money, according to the Darien Police Department.

On Aug. 5, the resident reported they received a call from someone claiming to be "Lt. Moore." The caller demanded cash or cash equivalents for fictitious legal violations, police said.

The caller directed the resident to purchase digital gift cards, which the resident did in the amount of $2,000, police said.

No arrests have been made.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, gift card scams start with a call, text, email, or social media message.

"Scammers will say almost anything to get you to buy gift cards — like Google Play, Apple, or Amazon cards — and hand over the card number and PIN codes," the FTC notes on its website.

Common gift card scams include callers purporting to be from a government agency or tech support. Scammers will often say they're a friend or family member with an emergency, from a utility company or they'll say you've won a prize and need to pay a fee, the FTC said.

For more information on gift card scams, click here.