Cookeville police say callers posing as officers are demanding money to clear a warrant. The department says it never does that, so the call is a scam.
Cookeville police are warning residents about phone calls from people pretending to be officers. The callers say the person has an active warrant and must send money to settle it. Police say the department does not work that way, and the calls are false.
Several residents have reported the calls. The callers claim to be Lt. Frye or Capt. Stout of the Cookeville Police Department. A real-sounding name and rank can make a call feel official, which is the point. Police say the department will not call and demand payment to take care of a warrant.
A threat of arrest is meant to rush people into paying before they think. Police say anyone who gets such a call should not share personal or financial information, send money or buy gift cards.
Anyone in Cookeville who answers the phone could get one of these calls. Police specifically ask residents to share the warning with family members and others who may be vulnerable, such as older relatives. If no one has called you, there is nothing to fix. Passing the warning along is the useful part.
The alert box above covers what to do if a call comes in. The one number worth saving is the department's main line, 931-526-2125, for checking whether a caller is real.
Police did not say how many calls have been made, whether anyone has lost money, how much the callers are demanding, or how they got residents' numbers. Those details were not part of the warning.
If a caller says you owe money for a warrant, hang up and call Cookeville police yourself at 931-526-2125.
The Attala County Sheriff's Office in Mississippi says scam calls are reaching residents, and a call that sounds official may not be.
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