Authorities in Naples are warning residents about a scam where fraudsters use legitimate Naples Police Department phone numbers and the names of real officers to deceive people.
Lt. Bryan McGinn of the Naples Police Department emphasized the seriousness of the issue.
"The police department or any law enforcement agency in the United States won't call you and ask for funds. That's not how this works," McGinn said.
In a recent incident, an impostor called someone using the department's non-emergency number and identified themselves as Assistant Chief Robert Montagano from the fictitious "Naples Police Security Division," a department that does not exist within the agency. They asked personal questions to the person on the other end of the line like, "When will you be home?", "When do you work?", and "When are you normally awake?"
"You never know what angle the fraudsters are trying to go on as far as how they're going to perpetrate to try and separate you from your money. But that's essentially all they're trying to do, whether it's property or money or something along those lines that they're looking to get after," McGinn said. "So the best course of action is to not provide any of that kind of personal information to anybody that you don't know at all."
The scammers use spoofing apps to mask their true phone numbers, making it appear as though calls are coming from legitimate places. They often have personal details, such as names and addresses, obtained from data leaks and public records.
Dr. Andrea Hayes, an endocrinologist in Naples, shared her concern about the scam's impact on vulnerable individuals.
"I hate to hear about it — especially elderly people getting scammed because it seems like it's all around," she said. "I once had a patient in his mid-eighties who was told to meet a scammer at a store and buy a bunch of gift cards, which he did, and it wiped out his $100,000 bank account."
If you receive a suspicious call claiming to be from the Naples Police Department seeking money or personal information, hang up immediately.
Contact the police directly at 239-213-4844 or 239-213-3000 to confirm the authenticity of the call.