Southlake police warn about phone scam

Several Southlake residents recently have been targeted in an “aggressive” phone scam, Southlake police said.

The caller(s) claimed to be a police officer and told the residents there was a warrant for their arrest and they needed to pay them $2,500, or a similar ruse, police said. The caller tries to keep the person on the phone long enough to get Green Dot or other preloaded cards with the victim’s credit and Social Security number.

Southlake police said law enforcement agencies don’t call people for arrest warrants demanding payments in such a manner.

One victim quickly went to the police department, where an officer called and got all but one card canceled, saving her $3,500, Southlake police said. Another victim hung up on the caller several times, went to the police and when the scammer called again, he handed the phone to the same officer who handled the previous case. The caller then hung up.

Residents who get a call they think is a scam are urged to immediately hang up, block the number, notify police and put a fraud alert on their Social Security number and credit cards.

This story was originally published June 4, 2015 at 10:07 AM with the headline "Southlake police warn about phone scam."