(St. Joseph, MI) - Berrien County, Michigan residents are being warned about phone calls from impostors pretending to be police in order to scam people.

According to authorities, the callers identify themselves as Berrien County Sheriff’s Deputies and attempt to scare people into transferring money over the phone. The targets are told they have some type of criminal or civil charge(s) against them as a scare tactic, as well as spoofing their numbers to make them appear as if they’re from Berrien County.

The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office would never contact someone over the phone and request money or use a payment app to retrieve funds.

Individuals receiving such calls are encouraged to hang up right away and not give them any money or personal information.