Burlington Police Warn Of Car Warranty Scam

BURLINGTON, MA — Burlington police Lt. Glen Mills warned Thursday of a common scam in a Twitter thread describing his experience trying to talk to the scammers.

In this scam, scammers spoof a plausible phone number to call from and pose as representatives of a car dealer, manufacturer or insurer, telling you your car warranty or insurance is about to expire. Often they use publicly available information on your specific car to seem more legitimate.

Mills attempted to talk to a scammer Thursday when he received a call at first.

He first told the scammer he drove a 1908 Ford Model T — an obviously untrue claim — then switched to a 2008 Ford Crown Victoria, the classic police car.

The scammer passed him on to another representative, who hung up as soon as he learned that Mills is a police officer.

Kevin asks my name and the kind of car I want to extend the warranty on.

Me: "Glen Mills, I have a police car."

Kevin, "So you're a police officer?"

Me: "Yup"

Kevin mutters something and we are suddenly disconnected. :(

— Burlington MA Police Lieutenant Glen Mills (@BurlingtonPD072) January" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/Burlington... 14, 2021

The call came from a spoofed number in Canton, Mills said.

The Federal Communications Commission has tips on how to respond to this type of call. You should not give any personal information and can file a complaint with the commission.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.