Orange Police Warn Residents About Clone Call Scam

ORANGE, CT — Police are warning residents as the department's phone number is being cloned by scammers.

"Our phone number is being cloned by scammers again," police wrote on Facebook. "We will NEVER ask you to pay fines or bail with cryptocurrency, gift cards, or threaten you with arrest if you don’t pay something immediately over the phone."

Police provided a link to Consumer Protection with more information regarding these scams.

Consumer Protection said the scam works by a call coming into your phone that appears to be from law enforcement.

"(The scammers) say they’ve confiscated a package with your name on it," Consumer Protection wrote. "It’s filled with money, illegal drugs, or weapons — and you’ll be arrested unless you pay a fine. To avoid being arrested, they might tell you to send cash, deposit money at a Bitcoin ATM, buy gift cards and give them the numbers, or send money over a payment app like Zelle, Cash App, or Venmo."

If you get a call like this, Consumer Protection says to hang up and not call the number back. Instead, report the call to authorities.

More information is available by clicking this link.