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2030 North Arlington Avenue • Duluth, Minnesota 55811 • www.duluthmn.gov
Public Information Officer, Mattie Hjelseth at (218) 730-5434 or mhjelseth@duluthmn.gov
SUBJECT: Impersonating an Officer Scam
BY: DPD Public Information Officer R. Tinsley (218) 730-5722
NATURE OF INCIDENT: Scam Alert
CASE NO.:
INCIDENT DATE: 9/18/2015
INCIDENT TIME:
INCIDENT LOCATION: Duluth Area
The Duluth Police and the Saint Louis County Sheriff’s Department would like the public to be aware of a scam involving phone calls from an individual claiming to be a police officer or Sergeant Bradley from the Saint Louis County Sheriff’s Office. The individuals contacted are told that they have an outstanding fine for failure to appear and that they must pay immediately to avoid being arrested. The caller demands that the potential victim provide credit card information over the phone or send the money via wire transfer. The calls are coming from (218) 220-1281.
Neither the Saint Louis County Sheriff’s Office nor any other law enforcement agency will call somebody and threaten them to be arrested or demand the payment of a fine. Nor will the agency demand that the fine be paid immediately by credit card or wire transfer. All fines and court cases are handled through the District Court.
This is a common scam that occurs all over the US. If you receive a call or have a message from a person representing themselves as a law enforcement officer and demanding that you pay a fine, hang up and do not provide any personal or financial information. If in doubt, do not use the contact details the caller provides. If you want to verify that you do not owe any fines or have not missed a court date, you can call the court administrator at (218) 726-2460.
