Apex Police Captain gets scam call claiming she's about to be arrested in viral Facebook post

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Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Apex Police Captain gets scam call claiming she's about to be arrested in viral Facebook post

APEX, N.C. - (WTVD) -- An Apex Police captain was on the other end of a scam call where a man told her a sheriff's deputy was on the way to arrest her. It was a teachable moment - and social media gold.

During a chat with two men who went by the names of 'John Black' and 'Jason Brown,' Captain Ann Stephens was told she was facing as many as 25 charges in two conversations. The men told her their talk was being monitored by several agencies. The department posted video of the call to its Facebook page, hoping to convince people not to engage when asked for personal information over the phone.

"These are scam calls," Stephens said. "Don't ever give out your information. Don't ever verify their information even if they have it."

The caller asks for Stephens' address and last four digits of her social security number, which the caller claims there were numerous charges filed against.

When asked for her address, Stephens gave the address for the Police department - 205 Saunders Street.

"No, I'm not going to give you my address," said Stephens at one point. "If you have my file on me, you should know what my address is."

Another clip shows Stephens being asked for her social security number, before shaking her head and mouthing 'noooo' to the camera. Stephens was also asked how many bank accounts she uses.

After Stephens refused to comply, the man told her she was about to be arrested over 'serious allegations.' A man said Stephens was charged with drug trafficking and money laundering and that a deputy would show up in 45 minutes to arrest her. Another told her there were illegal bank accounts in her name. When asked if she had shared her social security number with anyone, Stephens says "I certainly didn't share it with a drug dealer."

The Facebook post has more than 2,300 shares and 400 comments as of Wednesday afternoon. The call ended when one of the men abruptly hung up.

'They're all scammers," Stephens says at the end of the video. "Just hang up on 'em or have a little fun."

ABC11 spoke to Captain Stephens about the call.

"A lot of people want to engage the scammer and keep them on the phone and have a little fun with them. But a lot of people don't have time or are just afraid to do it, so I think they got to live vicariously through us," she said.

"If somebody calls and says they're the Social Security Administration, hang up and call them back yourself. Call the number on the Social Security Administration website or IRS website and talk to them, but none of those agencies will ever ask for your information over the phone so that should be your first sign it's a scam," said Stephens told ABC11

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