04/07/2026
PLEASE READ!
If someone calls and asks you to buy a gift card or cryptocurrency to pay a fine, STOP.
It’s a scam.
These kind of scams start with a call, text, email or social media message. The person contacting you is, they say, from the government. (They’re not.) They say to pay right away or something terrible will happen. (It won’t.)
• A police department or other law enforcement agency will NEVER contact you via phone or text stating you have an outstanding warrant or unpaid tickets.
• ALWAYS verify the source that is requesting any type of payment. Search the company and call the listed phone number, not the one the caller provided.
• ASK for more details.
• NEVER give any money over the phone.
• If selling items on Facebook Marketplace or any other social media sites for buying/selling items, do NOT accept cashiers checks over the amount of sale. They will ask you to deposit the check and then ask you to send the extra back to them.
• DON’T send cash, wire money, or give out personal information.
A legitimate organization WILL NOT ask for payments by gift card, cryptocurrency, bank transfer, or ask you to provide personal information, such as your social security number. If you get a call like this, hang up the phone.
To report a scam, please call the Willow Park Police Department at 817-441-9747.
For more information on avoiding scams, visit the Federal Trade Commission website here: https://consumer.ftc.gov/scams
