Two phone scammers had no idea what they were in for when they unwittingly tried to pull one over on a police chief.
Ann Stephens, a police captain from Apex, North Carolina, received a call from two men identifying themselves as John Black and Jason Brown. The two men attempted to get her personal information by telling her that she was facing multiple criminal charges.
Of course, the law enforcement professional did not fall for the scam, and she decided to have a little fun with the callers while she was at it.
The Apex Police Department posted footage of the call to their Facebook page:
“SCAM CALLERS – DO NOT TELL THEM ANYTHING!!!” read the caption. “Captain Stephens got a scam call today on her phone … here is how the call went.”
The video now has more than 3,700 reactions and more than 450,000 views. It has been shared more than 9,000 times. People were super-impressed with the way Stephens effortlessly shut down the scammers.
When asked to provide her address, she gave the address of the police station. Talk about irony! When they asked if she had ever shared her social security number with anyone, she assured them that she certainly had not given it to a drug dealer.
She escalated the call to a “senior officer” and pointed out inconsistencies in what the two different scammers told her.
“The sheriff’s department is not coming to get me. I’m pretty sure of that,” she commented to the camera while waiting to be switched to a supervisor.
Eventually, the scammers hung up abruptly.
Although Stephens was clearly having a little fun, the department posted the video of the incident in order to educate the public about the importance of keeping your personal information safe in these types of situations.
“If somebody calls and says they’re the Social Security Administration, hang up and call them back yourself,” Stephens told ABC 11. “Call the number on the Social Security Administration website or IRS website and talk to them, but none of those agencies will ever ask for your information over the phone so that should be your first sign it’s a scam.”
The Federal Trade Commission has a site that lists popular recent scams along with tips on privacy and identity theft. This provides a good resource on what to look for and how to deal with phone scammers.
Whether you immediately hang up or decide to have a little fun as Stephens did, just remember never to give nor confirm any of your sensitive personal information!
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for other great tips and ideas to make the most out of life.
