Canton Woman Swindled $12,000 From Scammer Claiming To Be Police

CANTON, MI — Canton Police warned residents Tuesday to be on alert after they said a Canton woman was swindled for more than $12,000 in a phone scam where the person said he was a police officer.

Police said the woman received a call Tuesday from someone claiming to be a member of the Canton Police task force. The person told her she had an arrest warrant and needed to post bond, otherwise she would be arrested by officers, officials said.

The phone scammer then transferred the woman to another person who claimed to be a member of the U.S. Marshals, who told her to load the payment onto gift cards and give him the numbers on the back of the card, officials said.

"They told this individual if they failed to show up for a court appearance, they had a subpoena as a witness in case they didn’t show up," Officer Patty Essenlink told WDIV. "Now there’s a warrant."

After getting the numbers on the back of the gift cards, the scammer then instructed the person to send even more money using Zelle and Cash App, officials said.

Canton Police encouraged residents to never give personal information, banking information or pay any fee to anyone without verifying the agency or business. Police also asked residents to report attempted scams to 734-394-5400.