Bellevue Police Are NOT Involved In IRS Phone Scam

BELLEVUE, WA - Don't worry, Bellevue police are not involved in a phone scam going around town - but the scammers want you to think they are.

According to police, multiple local residents on Thursday got calls that showed on caller ID as "Bellevue Police." The scammer was able to hijack the phone number for the Factoria station, making it appear police were calling.

The scam is a familiar one: the scammer claims to be collecting an overdue IRS payment. They threaten arrest or jail if you don't pay up.

"The Bellevue Police Department would like to remind residents that our Officers will never call you to demand payment. This is a further reminder that any phone number can easily be cloned to appear on someone’s caller ID, so you should not assume that just because a number appears to be a legitimate government entity that the caller is in fact a government employee," the department wrote on its blog Thursday.

If you get a call - or a call from anyone claiming to be a police officer - police ask that you get their name and badge number. You can report impersonators by calling 911 or NORCOM non-emergency at (425) 577-5656.

Image via Shutterstock