The Lake Havasu City Police Department warns the community about a fraudulent telephone scam seen recently in Lake Havasu City.  Officers with the Lake Havasu City Police Department recently investigated a fraudulent telephone call where an unknown caller identified themselves as a member of the Lake Havasu City Police Department to the victim. The telephone number assigned to this call was the police department’s non-emergency number, (928)-855-4111, and the caller informed the victim that he was being investigated for criminal activity.

The unknown caller requested the victim to purchase gift cards from local businesses and then provide the caller with the gift card numbers to avoid further criminal action. The victim also received several additional calls from an unknown number, where the callers had personal information about the victim, including his banking institution.

The Lake Havasu City Police Department will not solicit any type of payment for alleged criminal activity over the telephone or in person. Fraudulent telephone calls are increasing in the Lake Havasu City area and citizens are urged to use caution when they are requested to make any form of payment in lieu of arrest, prosecution and imprisonment.

The police department encourages the community to report these types of fraudulent calls and be aware that scammers are constantly devising new schemes in an attempt to get your money.  Do not provide your address, phone number, banking, credit card, social security number or any other personal information to anyone that calls you unsolicited. In addition, do not purchase any gift cards or provide any caller with gift card numbers to avoid further action, as this is a common scam practice.

Caller identification can make it appear that the caller is local. However, this is just another tactic used by scammers.   Additional consumer tips of things you can do to avoid becoming a victim, or to find more information about current scams can be found at the Federal Trade Commission’s website .

Public Information Officer:  Detective Chris Angus