A Bangor resident was scammed out of $9,000 by someone impersonating a police officer.
The resident got a call from a man, using the name of a Bangor police lieutenant and spoofing the police department’s caller ID on Monday, the department said. It’s the second spam call that has been reported to Bangor police in less than a week.
The caller said someone had forged the resident’s signature and used their identity to get released from police custody. In order to clear up confusion, the person was told they needed to deposit $9,000 into a Bitcoin kiosk, Bangor police said.
The person did deposit the money, which Bangor police said they have “little hope” of recovering.
Bangor police do not use Bitcoin, and no officers in Maine will ask for payment; instead payments for fines and warrants happen at courthouses. Scammers use the actual names of officers and talk with urgency, trying to keep the person on the phone until they buy Bitcoin or gift cards, Bangor police Lt. Jason Stuart said.
No one should ever give out personal information on the phone before making sure the person on the other end is who they say they are. If the person may be a scammer, hang up the phone and call the local police department through the public phone number, not the number provided by the caller, police said.
Another person reported a similar spam call on Saturday, but the person knew it was a scam and did not pay, Stuart said.
