Bridgeport has became the latest police department in Connecticut to warn residents about a phone scam in which callers reportedly claims to be representatives of the local force and “falsely assert criminal legal action in exchange for monetary funds.”
“The Bridgeport Police Department has been notified of multiple telephone calls regarding scammers impersonating members of the BPD who have attempted to extort individuals claiming they are delinquent for jury duty,” said Scott Appleby, the city’s emergency management director, in a news release on Sunday. “The scammers falsely claim the individual has an active arrest warrant for jury duty violations which requires them to pay a fine to be restored to good standing. These calls are fake and not made from anyone at the BPD.”
Appleby said the “Bridgeport Police Department or any other Government Agency will never solicit anyone for monetary funds.”
Such scams have become increasingly common in the recent past, according to federal court officials, who reported on their website that they had occurred in “various parts of the United States,” warning that “citizens are being targeted by phone calls and emails, threatening them with prosecution for failing to comply with jury service in federal or state courts.”
“Federal courts do not require anyone to provide any sensitive information in a telephone call or email,”…
