The Newington Police Department is warning residents to be on the lookout for scammers that are claiming to be police officers, demanding money for unpaid traffic violations.
Authorities said they've received numerous reports of the scam in which callers are told they have unpaid traffic violations that need to be paid off using prepaid credit cards.
If you receive one of these calls, police said you shouldn't provide personal financial or account information to any unsolicited person who is trying to reach you by phone, online or at the door, even if it seems legitimate.
Officers will never demand instant payment over the phone, or require the use of pre-paid debit cards, according to police.
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Traffic violations should only be paid through the state Centralized Infractions Bureau and not directly to the municipality that issued the infraction, according to authorities.
"Beware - some sophisticated scammers can manipulate their caller ID to say the caller is with the Newington Police Department. The caller ID on the calls reported to the Newington Police have shown up as the Newington Police routine telephone number," the police department said in a statement.
Anyone who receives a request for payment is asked to contact police.
