Phone Scammers Impersonating Officers

🚨SCAM ALERT🚨
The phone scam is back with a twist!

This week, we received several reports regarding an individual claiming to be a Tukwila Commander randomly calling victims in search of easy money. The suspect went so far as to clone the Tukwila PD station phone number and has been using the name of a Commander to try to lend authenticity to their scam. This same technique has been used in several other cities in the area over the past several years.

The scammer informs the victim that they have a warrant and that they must pay the warrant or they will be arrested. In the last reported call, the scammer stated that the victim must pay them in the form of gift cards from Walmart. At one point, the suspect was so desperate to appear legitimate that they said they would meet the victim in front of the Tukwila Justice Center to collect the “fine”.

Our officers will never call anyone to ask for money or gift cards. If you’re ever unsure of whether or not you’re speaking with a real officer, feel free to request their name and badge number, hang up and call the station directly yourself and ask to speak to that officer.