Man posing as Chelsea police detective offering prizes over the phone
A man with a thick foreign accent is calling area residents and falsely representing himself as a detective with the Chelsea Police Department, telling people there is a prize waiting for them at the city's UPS store.
The Chelsea police sent out an alert to residents Tuesday morning to report the scam. According to police, the man has told at least one person that they had won a prize and could claim it at the Chelsea UPS store, 1163 South Main St.
Dispatcher Dan Whitesall said police don’t know what the man is trying to get out of the scam, but police are definitely not the ones calling.
“It’s a scam, we don’t call around soliciting and giving out prizes,” Whitesall said.
Whitesall said there’s only been one report involving the Chelsea police, and the man who called did not give a specific officer’s name from the department. He said the man’s accent was so thick that the caller couldn’t understand much of what he was saying, other than portions involving the Chelsea Police Department, UPS store and a prize.
The department does not solicit residents via phone calls and does not offer prizes, according to police. Area residents who receive a call like this are encouraged to tell the caller they are not interested and hang up the phone.
If the man continues to call, residents are advised to contact the local police department and report the incident.
Anyone looking for more information about this scam is encouraged to call the Chelsea Police Department at 734-475-9122.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
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