Polson Police warn about scam phone calls

The Polson Police Department is issuing a warning about scam phone calls after investigating a recent incident in which a person received a phone call that appeared to come from the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s office, but was fraudulent.

The caller contacted the Polson Police after receiving a phone call where the person used the names of actual detectives and a captain with the Yellowstone sheriff’s office. The caller went on to say that the person had missed a court date and was facing criminal charges while demanding a bond of $4,000 be paid for each offense, according to a release from Polson Police.

The caller also instructed the person to download an app on their phone to pay and threatened the person saying that they would be arrested if they spoke with anyone about it. The caller also told the person they could travel to Billings to complete a “signature verification” on a subpoena they were supposed to sign.

The person who received the phone call reported the incident to Polson Police who investigated and determined the incident was a scam. Polson reported the incident to Yellowstone officials which reported that scam callers were “spoofing” their number by using computer software to make it appear as if they were calling from a credible number.

“Sophisticated scams like this are difficult to investigate and education is the key to prevention,” Polson officials said in a release. “Whenever you are in doubt, please end the conversation and call your local law enforcement to report the incident.”