If your phone lights up with a “210-207” number claiming to be the police, San Antonio officials want you to treat it like a big red flag. On Tuesday, the San Antonio Police Department warned residents about a phone scam that uses official-looking caller IDs to strong-arm people into paying bogus fines.
According to police, callers are spoofing numbers that begin with 210-207, telling people they are under investigation or have an outstanding warrant, then ordering them to transfer money to clear things up. The department says it will never call to demand payment or ask you to move your money to another account. If you get a call like that, hang up and write down the number instead of arguing.
In a Facebook post, the San Antonio Police Department said scammers are disguising their calls with “210-207-xxxx” IDs and threatening people with arrest unless they pay up. The post directs anyone who received one of these calls to contact SAPD’s non-emergency line at 210-207-7273 to file a report, and it reiterates that officers will not request payment by phone.
How the scam works
Scammers are using “neighbor spoofing” to make the call look like it is coming from a city line, then cranking up the pressure with threats of arrest or a criminal investigation and demanding immediate payment. As reported by the San Antonio Express-News, the department has warned that “The San Antonio Police Department will NEVER contact citizens and ask for a payment via phone or to transfer money to a certain account.”
These schemes routinely push victims to pay with gift cards, cryptocurrency or wire transfers, methods that law enforcement flags as classic signs of a scam.
Why seniors are at risk
Imposter fraud is one of the most frequently reported scams, and even those numbers likely understate the real losses, especially among older adults, according to KSAT. Authorities say scammers lean hard on urgency and shame to keep people from speaking up or double-checking the story, then route payments through gift cards, Bitcoin or other hard-to-trace channels.
The city and local nonprofits run scam-awareness programs to help residents spot these cons before money changes hands, but officials say education only works if people are willing to hang up and ask questions.
What to do if you were targeted
If you get one of these calls, hang up immediately and do not send money, buy gift cards or move funds anywhere just because a caller tells you to. The Federal Trade Commission outlines recovery steps and reporting tools for government-impersonation scams on the FTC website, and victims can file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.
To file a local police report or document a suspicious call, contact SAPD’s non-emergency line at 210-207-7273.
