Full Notification

The Green Bay Police Department has been made aware of another phone scam going on in our area. In the most recent version of the scam a caller made a phone call that appears to come from a Green Bay Police Department phone number. Criminals can spoof caller ID making it appear that the call is coming from one number, when it is really coming from somewhere else.

In this particular scam attempt, the caller identified themselves as a Green Bay Police Department Detective and stated that they were looking to speak with the victim and telling them that a relative was in police custody. This is an all too common scam where someone poses as a police officer or as a relative of the victim saying that they need money to be bailed out. There are variations of the scam where the caller poses as the caller’s nephew or grandson. In others, they try to pass themselves off as a law enforcement official.

To avoid being a victim of this type of scam, citizens can use the following tips:

1. Do NOT rely solely on caller ID to tell you who is calling.

2. Make a point of dialing the law enforcement agency directly yourself after you look up their legitimate phone number. If in doubt, you can always contact your local law enforcement agency FIRST.

3. Attempt to contact your family member yourself to see if they really are in custody or needing money.

4. Under no circumstances send any cash, checks, credit card information.

5. Law Enforcement will never ask you to send money via wire transfer, pre-paid credit cards, or other money transfer programs like green dot cards.

Capt. Jeremy Muraski
Green Bay Police Department 448-3200 ext. 0911