Scammers pose as officer, call Knightdale PD saying there is a outstanding warrant for them 'sexting'

KNIGHTDALE, N.C. (WTVD) -- You cannot pay your way out of a criminal charge, Knightdale Police Department warns in light of a sexting scam.

Recently, the police department received a call, which came up as "Police Department" on the caller ID.

When officers answered, the caller identified themselves as one of the department's officers and claimed the person who answered the call had an outstanding warrant for sexting.

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The caller said the warrant could be paid off instead of being served. Reminder: That is not how real law enforcement operates.

"This is not how police do business," Knightdale Police Department said in a Facebook post. "We would never let you pay your way out of a charge."

Criminal charges cannot be paid off. Citations and tickets may come with a fine, but even those must be paid to the courthouse, not a police officer.

"Bad guys do research. They can look at our website and see who our officers are. They spoof our phone number so the call looks like it is originating from us. If something sounds fishy, it probably is. Don't fall for this malarkey," the police department's Facebook post read.

Editor's note: Video in this article is from a previous story about the "one ring" robocall scam.