Police: Devious Scammers Act As Police Chief, Make Calls Appear To Come From Local Police Station

Creative, cunning cons looking to steal your money and/or personal information have evolved their tactics and are now taking a unique approach in trying to dupe you.

Utica Police say they received calls from city residents this week notifying cops of the latest series of scam attempts, and what crooks are now doing is quite clever. They're pretending to be local police officials you may recognize by name, therefore assuming it's a real call.

Scammers are disguising their phone number, that's nothing new - but city residents have complained they gotten calls that register on their caller ID as 315-735-3301 - which is the main line number to the Utica Police Department. Not only did the call appear to be local, and from the UPD, but the caller also identified himself at Utica Police Chief Mark Williams, officials said.

The target picked up on a foreign accent from the scammer, quickly realized it was a not a legitimate call and hung up, police said.

Utica Police shared information about the incident on social media, notifying local residents that if they receive a similar call that despite indications that may typically verify the call is legitimate, they are not.