Phone Scams On The Rise In Howard County

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Police officers are warning residents to remain vigilant after they reported seeing an uptick in phone scam reports.

In these phone scams targeting Howard County residents, the scammer states they are a police officer and offers to accept gift cards in place of the resident paying a fine or warrant for the resident's arrest. Some scammers are using the name of a current or retired Howard County police officer in an attempt to seem legitimate, the police department stated.

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The Howard County Police Department said residents need to hang up immediately if they receive such a phone call.

Furthermore, if a resident believes they may have been the victim of a telephone scam and money, gift cards or personal information was exchanged with the caller, contact the police department at 410-313-2200 or file a police report online.