Police warn of new scam call posing as Fairfield police

The caller tells the recipient they missed a court appearance in which they were required to provide expert testimony in a case potentially involving a patient. The caller then says, as a result of missing the fake court date, a warrant has been issued for their arrest, police said.

To make the scam more believable, the caller has spoofed or altered the number on the caller ID to make it seem like the call is coming from the department’s non-emergency number, the police department said.

Some recipients of these scam calls have also said they had voicemails stating there is a “confidential legal matter” that needs to be discussed. They are told in the voicemail to call back a number that does not belong to the police department.

“These calls are fake,” the police department said Thursday. “Please just ignore the call and do not respond. The Fairfield Police Department does not generally call individuals regarding active arrest warrants and never calls anyone regarding missed court appearances.”

Though the recipients of these calls recognized them as scams, “these types of calls usually result in the scammer soliciting money for bond and threatening immediate arrest if the bond is not paid.”

The police department does not take bond payment over the phone. Bonds are also only ever accepted following an arrest, not to prevent one, police said.

“We encourage any resident who is contacted by an unknown individual and is asked for money to contact the Fairfield Police Department if they are concerned or in doubt about the legitimacy of the call. Odds are, the call is a scam with the purpose of extorting individuals for money,” police said.