Sheriff’s office launches ‘Cops Don’t Call for Cash’ scam awareness program

Josh Skluzacek

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office has started a new awareness program in an effort to fight scams.

The sheriff’s office launched its "Cops Don’t Call for Cash" program to help Minnesotans understand that law enforcement agencies won’t ever contact them via phone or email and ask for any kind of payment.

It’s common for scammers to pose as law enforcement and demand payment for a missed court date, jury duty or other legal matter, but real law enforcement agencies don’t do that.

"For years, criminals have been posing as law enforcement and demanding payment for some non-existent legal issue," Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson said. "These scams are often quite sophisticated and are designed to make people feel panicked. Fortunately, this is one of those issues for which education is really the answer. That’s why we gave this program the title Cops Don’t Call for Cash. Simply remember the name and you’ll be able instantly spot a phone scam."

As part of the multi-agency awareness campaign, authorities are hoping to help Minnesotans avoid falling victim to common scams.

Anyone who believes they’ve been the victim of a scam caller is urged to record the caller’s number, save any voicemails the caller left and contact law enforcement.

The sheriff’s office also says to not rely on caller ID to verify where a call is coming from, and if you’re uncertain about the identity of a caller, hang up and call the official number of the agency.