In an email to residents, the City of Iowa City warned of a phone scam where people claiming to work for the ICPD ask for personal information or money.

The Iowa City Police Department continues to take reports of phone scams in various forms. Recently, community members have reported being contacted by people claiming to be Iowa City Police Department employees. The caller requests personal information, or claims that a loved one is in jail and needs bail money. The calls also appear to be coming from an ICPD phone number.

Iowa City Police employees will never request personal information over the phone, and will never ask for financial information.

Regardless of the form the scams take, the calls all have one thing in common: demand for personal information and/or financial payment.

Keep these tips in mind to avoid becoming a phone scam victim:

• If you believe the call is suspicious, hang up.
• Do not give any personal information, such as social security or bank account numbers, over the phone.
• If the caller claims to be from a specific agency, hang up and call that agency to determine if there is a legitimate reason to contact you. Do not use the phone number the caller gives you.
• Never trust callers who use threats and hostility to bully you into doing what they want.

If you think you have been a victim of a scam, contact your local law enforcement agency to report it.