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Don’t be a victim; Lake City Police Department warns of scammer impersonating Chief Butler

By ActionNewsJax.com News Staff

Gift card scam

By ActionNewsJax.com News Staff

LAKE CITY, Fla. — The Lake City Police Department is warning a scammer is targeting Columbia County residents, attempting to steal money by impersonating the chief of police.

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On Wed., Dec. 13, a victim reported that someone posing as Chief Gerald Butler called their phone from the department’s number, 386-752-4343.

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According to the department, the caller told the victim their identity was used for fraudulent accounts in a different state. The caller advised the victim they were determined to not be a suspect. However, to continue the police investigation, the victim was asked to transfer money from their bank account to an Apple gift card. The gift card details were then to be given to the caller.

The victim decided to visit the police department in person to file a report of fraud.

Police also said that another person came forward about the scheme. In that case, the victim stated the scammer identified themselves as Chief Butler.

“Technology has advantages and disadvantages,” Gerald Butler, Chief of Police said. “There are technologies which enable criminals to mask or spoof phone numbers.”

Some tips police have for avoiding being a victim of scams or fraud include:

  • A government agency will never request payment in the form of gift cards.
  • The IRS or other federal entities will not call or e-mail citizens.
  • If a person receives a call from any entity alleging to be a government agency or a business, get the caller’s name and phone number and end the call. Verify the organization’s phone number online. If the number is correct, call back and request to speak to the original caller. If the call was fraudulent or masked, it is unlikely the caller will be available or unaware of the situation.
  • Do not click on links in e-mails or text messages. Go to the original website or app to verify messages or track packages.

Earlier last week, Action News Jax told you about the FBI issuing warnings about holiday shopping scams and how you can avoid them.

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