Wake Forest Police warn residents (again) about Apple Pay, Venmo & other electronic payment scams

The Wake Forest Police Department (WFPD) is again urging residents to guard against becoming the victim of fraud following recently reported phone scams involving Venmo and Apple Pay.

Residents who were recently involved in a traffic accident have reported receiving calls from someone posing as a Wake Forest Police officer who claims they owe money for missing a subsequent court date. According to various reports, the caller says a warrant has been issued for their arrest, or soon will be, but they can pay a fine now via Apple Pay, Venmo, or some other form of electronic payment and avoid being arrested.

Neither the WFPD nor any other government agency make such calls, nor would they ever ask anyone to make a payment via Apple Pay, Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, Green Dot cards, store gift cards, Playstation/Xbox cards, Apple iTunes gift cards, Bitcoins, or any other electronic payment app. These types of scams are designed to exploit fear and pressure victims into making payments to scammers.

Scammers often use official-sounding language to intimidate victims. They may even use information obtained via public databases to sound credible by claiming that someone has unpaid fines, warrants or outstanding tickets, and that they need to make immediate payments to avoid arrest or legal consequences.

Scammers often will instruct their intended victim to make payments through payment apps, prepaid debit cards, gift cards, wire transfers or cryptocurrency.

Again, legitimate law enforcement agencies do not request payments through these methods.

In addition, many scammers have technology that can manipulate caller ID information to make it appear as though the call is coming from a legitimate police department or government agency. Police recommend that people do not trust caller ID alone.

If you receive a suspicious phone call, verify the call, and do not provide any personal information or make payments. 

Ask the caller for their name, badge number, and the department they claim to represent. Hang up and independently verify the information by contacting the Wake Forest Police Department at 919-554-6150. Do not use any phone numbers provided by the caller.

If you believe that you are a victim of this type of crime, report it to the Wake Forest Police Department at 919-554-6150.