Nutley Residents ‘Spoofed’ By Police Impersonators, Cops Say

NUTLEY, NJ — Several Nutley residents were recently “spoofed” by a police impersonator via telephone, authorities announced Tuesday.

Police Director Alphonse Petracco and Chief Thomas Strumolo released a joint statement about the “suspicious phone calls” that took place earlier this week.

According to Strumolo, the Nutley Police Department received several reports from residents on Tuesday who said an “officer” attempted to contact them – which no local officer did.

It appears the residents were spoofed, he said, a common scam where a caller disguises their real phone number or imitates another legitimate one to fool their victim.

“It is unclear the motive, possibly the beginning of a fraud, however these residents contacted police and learned of the attempt,” Strumolo said.

The police chief said there are phone applications available that will disguise the caller’s number and allow them to put any number/name they wish for the receiver to see. In this case, the residents saw “Nutley Police” on their phone’s ID and believed the call to be credible.

In all incidents, the resident was advised to contact Officer “XYZ” at a number that was not Nutley police.

Local authorities continue to investigate the calls, Strumolo said.

Petracco said that residents who think they may have been spoofed should “be cautious” and call police directly at 973-284-4940 to determine if the call is real.

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