COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho- The Coeur d’Alene Police Department (CDAPD) issued a warning to the public about scam calls on Feb. 6.
During the weekend of Feb. 3 and 4, several Coeur d’Alene residents received calls from a scammer who claimed to be a CDAPD officer. The name of a real officer was used by the scammer. The caller went on to say that there was a warrant out for the arrest of the person receiving the call, and that they needed to send the fake officer money online to call-off the warrant.
The CDAPD reminded the public that police and emergency response will never call citizens to request money, and that non-emergency calls to the department can be made at (208) 769-2320.
The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office warned of similar scam calls the week of Feb. 2, and the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office notified the county of scam calls impersonating police in late January.
Scam calls are increasing in technical complexity. The wide-spread proliferation of Artificial Intelligence software has made it possible for scammers to impersonate voices and create more convincing false identities. Scam calls could continue to be a source of concern for police and emergency response in the near future as scammers innovate new ways to hoodwink members of the public.
