Dubuque Police Warn Residents About Ongoing Phone Scam

Scams are prevalent across the country, and unfortunately, Iowa is not immune to such attempts at theft. Earlier this year, I wrote about how Iowans alone lost over $42 million to several different types of dangerous scams. That equates to $1.3 million lost per 100,000 residents. That's a confounding figure.

Some of the scams included imposter scams, identity theft, and online shopping scams, which especially get more prevalent during the holiday season. However, this week, the Dubuque Police Department made a post on their Facebook page regarding a new kind of scam that has been plaguing residents in Dubuque as of late. We'll call this the "warrant scam."

The Dubuque Police Department has recently received multiple calls and reports from those in the community who have received phone-calls from individuals claiming to be from the PD or the Dubuque County Sheriff's Department.

The scammers making these calls inform the person they phone that there is an outstanding warrant for their arrest, and in order to clear the warrant and their name, they must make payment immediately. Immediately, such a call should raise alarm bells. Having a warrant in your name is not something that should be a surprise, after all.

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The Dubuque Police Department wanted to put the kibosh on these calls and remind residents that they would never ask for momentary payment over the phone:

[The Dubuque Police Department] is not calling residents to inform them they have a warrant, nor would we ask for payment to satisfy any type of charge over the phone. If you receive one of these calls, DO NOT provide any of your personal information! If you have questions about this scam or others you can contact Lieutenant Luke Bock at (563) 589-4473 or lbock@cityofdubuque.org - per the Dubuque Police Department's Facebook page

Not to mention, if you've ever seen the show COPS, or have even a vague idea of how police protocol works, if there is a warrant in your name, the police will show up at your house. Not call you on the phone.

Per a study conducted by QRFY, these were the most common scams in Iowa:

The Top 10 Most Common Scams in Iowa:

READ ABOUT OTHER SCAMS AFFECTING IOWA RESIDENTS HERE.