PEORIA (AZFamily) — A man is calling businesses pretending to be a Peoria police officer to scam them out of money, officials with the department warned Tuesday.
The man is identifying himself as “Lt. John Lockly” and is calling businesses claiming they are being audited for counterfeit bills, police said. He instructed businesses to remain on the phone while they counted money from the register and to transfer it via Cash App and prepaid cards, officials said.
In one case, he threatened to send officers to detain a woman who questioned the scam, officials said.
“Let us be absolutely clear: The Peoria Police Department will never call you and direct you to withdraw, transfer, deposit or send money in any form,” the department said in a statement.
Officials with the department said the caller can appear convincing, may claim to know personal details about employees and may even be nearby observing the business as he makes the calls.
Anyone who receives a call like this should hang up immediately and call 911 if they believe the suspect is watching the location.
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