Benson Police are alerting residents someone is using their name and even the department’s telephone number in a phone scam.
Police Chief Kenneth Edwards said individuals have been placing calls and implying they were a representative of the US Department of Justice. They claim the person is under federal indictment for unpaid taxes, delinquent student loans, or some other federal debt.
The caller has generally been described as an Indian Male, with a distinct accent, and he has made demands for payment of the debt or threats to have them arrested..
According to NC Attorney General Roy Cooper, “The scam starts with a telephone call from someone who claims to be with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or U.S. Treasury Department, demanding payment for unpaid taxes and threatening arrest if the consumer doesn’t pay immediately. In some cases, the scammers will call back posing as local law enforcement officers prepared to arrest the caller if the phony tax bill isn’t paid. The scammers often manipulate Caller ID to make it look like the calls come from the real government agency they are impersonating.”
The telephone number displayed on Caller ID has been 919-894-2091, which is the general business line for the Benson Police Department. Chief Edwards said, “We are not placing, or allowing these calls to be placed from our telephone lines, and we encourage the public to be skeptical of any such calls, and to report any suspicious telephone calls that might be received to their local law enforcement agency.”
