Safety Alert: Scam Poses as Searcy Police Department

Safety Alert: Scam Poses as Searcy Police Department

SEARCY, Ark. – In the game of Monopoly, a player’s best weapon is the “Get Out of Jail Free” card.

In Searcy, a scammer’s best weapon is currently a “Get Out of Jail for a Fee” call.

Police say scammers are posing as the department’s main number through an app and demanding money to bail a family member out of jail. The department received more than 250 calls Thursday from people saying they received the call. 

“We’ve had citizens from at least 20 states call and confirm it was the Searcy Police Department’s number that was trying to scam them,” Cpl. Michael Bullock said. “We don’t ask for money over the phone, and we’re not going to threaten you over the phone if you don’t give us the money.”

Cpl. Bullock said it’s a scam citizens have not lost cash on yet, but dispatchers have lost time.

“We field hundreds of calls per day,” he said. “Adding on to that, these frivolous calls, is definitely going to burden them a lot. Sometimes it’s difficult to convince the callers that they’re being scammed.”

Cpl. Bullock does not know what app the scammers are using but does know although the department’s main number is a first-time target, it won’t be the last as it rings in the new year. 

“Once they find something that’s effective, they will keep using it over and over again so it’s not going to go away,” he said. “We just have to educate the public and let them know this is not what the Searcy Police Department does.”

Cpl. Bullock said while his city department continues to investigate, state and federal authorities are also looking into this.