A Bergen County woman who received a call from someone claiming to be a sheriff's lieutenant found herself facing a familiar law-enforcement impersonation tactic: threats of arrest paired with an urgent demand for money. The incident, reported by ABC7 New York, is a reminder that a caller who knows personal details or uses a real officer's name may still be a fraudster.
Lindsay Angio told ABC7 that the caller identified himself as Lieutenant Damian Pope of the Bergen County Sheriff's Office and threatened arrest unless she brought cash to address an alleged warrant. She checked the name, found that a real lieutenant with that name worked for the agency, and went to the sheriff's office while remaining on the phone. ABC7 reported that she also recorded the interaction and received a document that purported to be an arrest warrant.
The document was another warning sign: ABC7 reported that it used the name of a judge who had died. The account does not establish who placed the call or whether anyone has been charged. It does show how impersonators can make an approach seem official while steering a target toward an immediate payment.
A warrant is not a phone-payment demand
New Jersey Courts define a bench warrant as a court order allowing law enforcement to arrest someone for failing to appear at a hearing or failing to comply with a court order. That definition does not turn a warrant into a demand for money over the telephone. New Jersey Courts provide the legal definition, while the Judiciary's scam guidance addresses what officials will not request.
The New Jersey Judiciary says court officials will never ask someone to pay to avoid arrest for missing jury duty or request personal identifiers for that purpose. It also says the Judiciary does not use money-transfer applications such as PayPal, Venmo or Cash App for jury-duty matters. A caller demanding payment, banking information or a Social Security number should therefore be treated as an impersonator, not as part of the court process.
Why the warning applies beyond one call
The Bergen County Sheriff's Office previously warned residents about callers posing as its officers, according to an August 2024 alert posted by the Bergen County Sheriff's Office. That earlier warning and the Angio account describe the same basic pressure pattern: an alleged legal problem, a threat of arrest and a demand for immediate payment. They are examples of the tactic, not by themselves a measure of how common the scam is statewide.
The FBI Philadelphia Field Office states that law enforcement does not call or email individuals to threaten arrest or demand money. That guidance matters even when a caller supplies convincing details or appears to know information about the person being targeted.
What to do if the call comes
Do not stay on the line to negotiate, withdraw cash or transfer funds. End the call and independently locate the agency's official phone number rather than relying on a number supplied by the caller. Contact the court or law-enforcement agency through that verified channel to ask whether any real case or warrant exists.
The FBI advises suspected victims to preserve banking records, transaction information and all related telephone, text and email communications. Those records can help investigators determine what happened and document any attempted or completed payment. The Angio episode underscores the same principle: urgency and an official-sounding identity are not proof that a demand is legitimate.
