The Manhattan Beach Police Department alerted the public today about a recently emerging phone scam.
Officials say scammers are exploiting the trust some citizens place in law enforcement by impersonating the department's Police Officers Association to ask for donations over the phone.
"It is crucial for the public to be aware that the MBPD or other law enforcement agencies would never engage in such activities by making unsolicited calls demanding payments or personal information over the phone,'' the department announced.
In order to avoid being a victim of this scam, the public was advised to verify the caller information by asking the person for their name, badge number and purpose of the call, then hanging up and verifying their identity by calling the official phone number for the MBPD.
The public was also advised to be cautious with personal information over the phone unless there is certainty of the caller's legitimacy. The MBPD asked the public to report suspicious calls to 310-802-5140.