FISHERS — The Fishers Police Department said it is investigating a telephone scam that has devastated a few residents of the city.
The scam involves someone impersonating a Drug Enforcement Agency agent who accuses the person on the other end of the line of being involved in an illegal drug investigation and demanding they send gift cards in order to clear their name, according to a release distributed Wednesday by Fishers police.
The scammers are known to tell the victim to stay on the phone, not tell anyone about the conversation and travel to a store and purchase gift cards or green dot cards for a certain amount.
Fishers police said a few residents of the city have been scammed out of thousands of dollars and provided the following safety tips:
- Immediately hang up the phone if you do not recognize or know the caller.
- Never give out personal information. If you feel the call might be legitimate, you can ask the person to mail you information.
- No legitimate company or organization requires payment via gift cards or green dot cards.
- No law enforcement agency threatens to arrest people over the phone.
- If something does not sound or feel right, hang up the phone.
- You are welcome to contact your local law enforcement agency, however most of these telephone scams originate from overseas and are very difficult if not impossible to trace.
Click here for more information regarding the DEA telephone scam.
