People who appear unfamiliar with the English language are calling people on the other side of the planet, claiming to be from the V.I. Police Department and demanding thousands of dollars in a phone and Internet scam.
The Insular Investigation bureau of the VIPD on Monday advised the public of the attempt to bilk unsuspecting victims of their money.
According to the police, a resident of Australia contacted the VIPD and said he had been scammed of $5,000 by persons representing themselves to be members of the Virgin Islands Police Department. In the email both the St. Croix district and the St. Thomas/St. John district police officers or office was mentioned.
The Australian victim contacted the VIPD after being harassed and scammed for money. The scammers threatened that officers from the VIPD had outstanding warrants for him and would come to his home and arrest him.
The victim sent copies of the emails to the VIPD Insular Investigation detectives who said the emails were clearly written by someone in a foreign country who does not have a grasp of the English language.
Detectives continue to investigate this matter.
Police said residents should be aware that police do not notify people of arrest warrants by email or phone and they don’t accept money to clear them.
"The people who are involved in the scams try to make the victim as frightened as possible so they will comply," Public Information Officer Melody Rames wrote in a Monday news release. "If you or anyone you know receives threats or suspicious emails, call the police immediately."
