An old phone scam that has made its way around Alaska over the last few years has seen a resurgence on the peninsula recently. Soldotna Police are now once again reporting calls of people pretending to be law enforcement threatening to arrest people unless they provide payment information.
An SPD dispatch posted last Wednesday states Soldotna Police received “numerous calls” beginning shortly before 10:00 a.m. from residents reporting persons claiming to be SPD Officers requesting financial payment in lieu of being placed under arrest for an active warrant.
The Soldotna Police Department reminds citizens no officer will call asking for monetary or personal information to settle or address claims or pending cases.
Similar to a spate of calls from someone impersonating Alaska State Troopers earlier this year, the calls have been spoofing the Soldotna Police phone number.
In the AST spoof calls in March of this year, the fraudsters called from the AST dispatch number and reported claims had been made against the individuals and that Troopers were coming to their houses.
“We’ve gotten several calls of it today already,” said AST A Detachment Commander, Cpt. Mike Zweifel at the time. “If it goes like it usually does, it’s probably going to be quite a few calls going out there today. We haven’t gotten a call here at the office, but we have had multiple reports of people calling in, and on the caller ID, it’s showing our phone number.”
In 2022, peninsula residents reported a spate of phone calls in which scammers impersonated Soldotna Police Officers. Like the recent incidents, officials in 2022 said scammers were using a phone spoofing program to trick caller ID into displaying the Soldotna Police Department’s business line. The scammers would then identify themselves as SPD officers and attempt to convince residents that they need to pay up for outstanding warrants.
Soldotna Police are encouraging citizens to call if they have any questions or concerns about any suspicious call.