"We're on our way," Clovis Police warn of text message scam involving gun 

CLOVIS, Calif. (KGPE/KSEE) – Clovis Police are informing astir a terrifying scam sent done substance connection that is circulating done the city. They said the scammers are sending pictures of a weapon and demanding money. 

One of those messages was sent into Yourcentralvalley.com by a Clovis resident. 

It shows a representation of a ample gun, with a drawstring of messages. One of the messages said "we're connected our way" and different said "you wage for it and this ends here." 

The nonmigratory said the sender continued connected to endanger his household and request money. 

Clovis Police Sergeant Abby Padgett said arsenic scary arsenic the menace looks, it is each conscionable a scam. 

"We person seen an influx of these benignant of scams, threats and fraud related calls recently," she said. 

She said, your household is wholly safe, but your wealth mightiness not be.  

"They commencement to say, if you don't bash this by a definite time, we're going to travel aft you. There's either threats for finances, there's threats for idiosyncratic harm. They'll nonstop you a picture. Most of the time, the representation is precise generic. It volition person similar a representation of a weapon oregon a representation of a idiosyncratic holding it. But there's not usually a look oregon thing associated with that," Padgett said. 

And that is precisely what the messages sent to america show. Padgett said the representation typically does not adjacent beryllium to the sender. 

"Most of the clip it's generic. A batch of times we'll tally the images done a reverse Google representation hunt and we'll find it connected there. And they volition person taken it from immoderate random person's illustration an advertisement oregon things similar that," she said. 

Padgett said anyone who receives 1 of these texts mightiness beryllium asked for wealth done acquisition cards, a ligament transportation similar Western Union, Zelle oregon different acquainted ways. 

She said it tin get worse if a reply is sent arsenic the scammer tin larn much astir the senders idiosyncratic information. The sender mightiness inadvertently uncover things they really bash not cognize astir the sender oregon the senders household done the texts.

Police besides said it is often hard for the scammers to look immoderate consequences. She says they are often overseas and hiding down the phone. 

"These telephone numbers aren't real. They're really done done an app wherever they spoof the telephone fig and it'll instrumentality america aggregate hunt warrants and ways to really way down the telephone number, which usually comes backmost to similar an net telephone number," she said. 

But anyone who receives these types of messages should ever inactive telephone the police. It helps the officers pass the nationalist astir the scam, and it tin besides assistance radical amended recognize immoderate reddish flags successful the messages, to amended support them successful the future. 

She besides said determination is ever the accidental idiosyncratic section is connected the different broadside of the phone. 

"You don't cognize who's connected the different extremity of that keyboard. While astir of these scams truly are from retired of the country, each erstwhile successful a while,  you'll get idiosyncratic from astir here. And I wouldn't invitation thing similar that into your ain home."