{
  "case_number": "2025-000000",
  "Details": "There has been an increase in scam phone calls and fraudulent activity in our community where scammers are contacting individuals and posing as members of a law enforcement agency. The MPD would like to remind everyone that we will never call you to demand payment over the phone. To keep you and your financial accounts safe, the Madison Police Department recommends:\r\n\nBe cautious of any entity asking you to quickly transfer funds over the phone.\nIf you see suspicious activity on your accounts, report it to your banking entity.\nRemember that law enforcement will not ask for funds in exchange for us to investigate a crime or alleged fraud.\nTake time to conduct internet searches of numbers given by these pop ups to see if they are legitimate\u00a0\u2013\u00a0I'd remove this... people are spoofing the correct numbers so they do appear to be \"legit\".\nIf someone is claiming you transferred funds from your account, take the time to independently verify if this occurred (logging onto your bank account or contacting your local branch)\n\r\nMPD is not aware of any governmental agency \u2013 MPD included that accepts payment in gift cards, or other non-traditional banking options.\u00a0 Use caution when being requested to make any sort of non-traditional financial transaction.\n\r\n\u00a0\nReleased 05/02/2025 at 7:52 AM by P.O. Anthony Vogel",
  "url": "https://www.cityofmadison.com/police/newsroom/incidentreports/incident.cfm?id=32425",
  "published": "Fri, 02 May 2025 07:52:00 CDT"
}