Gatlinburg, TN (WOKI) – The Gatlinburg Police Department is issuing a warning about a fraudulent telephone scam, where callers pose as employees with the Police Department, with the calls appearing to come from a Gatlinburg telephone number.
The Gatlinburg Police Department is investigating these fraudulent telephone calls, in which scammers say they are asking for funds to avoid being arrested via a warrant.
The Gatlinburg Police Department reminds you that it will never solicit any type of monetary funds over the telephone. Scammers often request payment in the form of cash, or prepaid gift cards and having the victim provide them with the card number.
If you receive an unsolicited phone call that meets the above description, or asks for payment, Gatlinburg Police ask you to take the following steps:
• Do not take immediate action or engage in any conversation, as scammers may record your response.
• Do not provide any credit card, banking or any other personal information.
• Do not send money if a caller tells you to wire money or pay with a prepaid debit card.
• Do not travel to any location the caller asks you to.
• Instead, call the Gatlinburg Police Department at 865-436-5181 to report the call.
The Gatlinburg Police Department strongly encourages the community to be active in helping report these types of scam calls. Scammers are consistently devising new schemes. Never provide unsolicited callers with any personal information such as your address, phone number, banking information, credit card account number, social security number or any other personal identification information.
For more information on dealing with scam telephone schemes, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0208-phone-scams (https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0208-phone-scams).
