The Lake Wales Police Department has received multiple inquiries recently, regarding several scams that are circulating in the Lake Wales area. Here are a few facts to consider with regard to identifying potential scams:
- If you receive an unsolicited call from an unknown party, never give out any personal or financial information, including social security, bank account, or credit card numbers.
- A legitimate organization will never ask for a gift card as payment.
- No legitimate financial institution will ever ask you to withdraw cash and ask to meet you in a parking lot.
- Legitimate organizations will never request that you withdraw cash and send it to them in an Uber, Lyft, or other ride share vehicle.
- No law enforcement agency will ever call you to request a cash payment to cancel an arrest warrant.
- If you receive a call that sounds suspicious, ask for their contact information and the name of their company before hanging up; this may be helpful to law enforcement later if it ends up being reported.
