Lakewood Teachers Targeted in Phone Scam: Cops

From the Lakewood Police: Investigators with the Lakewood Police Department are seeing a very disturbing trend of teachers being targeted in scams that often involve them being called or emailed in their own classrooms.

In this new scam, a teacher will get a call or an email from a familiar number or email address. The scammer, posing as a boss, will ask the teacher to drop everything and get their classroom covered because they need the teacher to immediately leave and purchase several hundred dollars’ worth of gift cards for an undisclosed emergency. The scammer requests photos of the numbers on the back of the cards and gets away with the money.

Another scam involves a teacher being contacted while in the classroom by someone posing as a law enforcement officer. The scammer says the teacher has a warrant out for their arrest and in order to get rid of the warrant, they must immediately pay via gift cards or credit cards. Again, the scammer asks the teacher to get their classroom covered immediately and leave to take care of the gift cards.

We have also learned that a fake phone tree has been set up impersonating not only the Lakewood Police Department, but the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office as well. Law Enforcement understands these scams and understands that the public does need to be cautious and verify our identity.

There are three easy things that you can do to verify that you're dealing with actual law enforcement: 1. Hang up and call 911 (not the fake numbers scammers provide) and confirm you're in contact with police. 2. Hang up and call Jeffcom 911’s non-emergency line at 303-980-7300 (not the number a caller provides you with) and confirm any information you've been provided such as a warrant. 3. Go to the police station (not to your bank and do not get gift cards. Do not go to any location that is provided by the caller which is NOT the police department you know).

Know that no law enforcement or government agency will ask for payment over the phone, or in the form of gift cards. Legitimate law enforcement will never threaten your family if you don't pay.

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