The Town of Vienna Police Department (VPD) is warning about a phone scam that purports to come from the Vienna Police Department.
Vienna Police warned that they will never call to collect fines or request personal information.
“Scammers are calling residents from what appears to be our official number — (703) 255-6366 — with ‘Vienna Police Department’ showing on caller ID,” Town of Vienna Police said on Facebook. “They falsely claim to be representatives of our department and may aggressively call multiple times.”
The VPD’s weekly police blotter noted eight calls from local citizens about a scam that claimed to be from the department’s non-emergency number. Callers claimed they had a warrant for the recipient’s arrest or needed to talk about a missing person.
Vienna Police warned:
If you receive such a call, hang up immediately. Do not provide any personal or financial information. If you’re ever unsure about the legitimacy of a call, you can always hang up and call us directly. We can confirm the validity of the officer’s employment and intent of the phone call. If a caller claims to be from a business or government agency, hang up and contact the organization directly using a verified phone number.
Vienna Police advised locals never to share personal information like passwords or social security numbers during unexpected or suspicious phone calls.
Suspicious phone calls should also be reported to the FCC.
The VPD’s round-up of incidents for the week of May 16-22 also highlighted a “suspicious event” that occurred on the Washington and Old Dominion Trail at Tapawingo Road on May 18.
According to police, a resident reported at 6:26 p.m. that there were “four juveniles riding dirt bikes on the bike trail, harassing pedestrians.”
“An officer located two of the juveniles on eBikes and spoke to them and their parents,” Vienna Police said. “The juveniles advised that the resident was filming them, advising that their bikes were prohibited on the trail. The officer informed the resident that the juveniles were permitted to ride eBikes on the trail.”
