RICHMOND, Ky. (WKYT) – A monthly report estimates that Kentucky received 53.6 million robocalls in October alone, prompting Attorney General Russell Coleman to join a bipartisan letter calling for the FCC to take action to reduce them .

Makenzie Davis with Richmond Police says it’s not uncommon for them to encounter a scam targeting the community for their money or private information.

“Here in Richmond, it just kind of comes and goes; it’s kind of the same scam going around,” said Davis, who works as an administrative support specialist.

But this latest scam even impersonates a civil servant while trying to defraud unsuspecting citizens.

“They were using Officer Faulkner’s name, they were using his badge numbers, and they even went so far as to set up a voicemail that looked like Officer Faulkner,” Davis said.

The same tactic was used in Boyle County this week, with someone posing as former Sheriff Derek Robbins.

“Scammers are getting really crafty and trying to use these scare tactics and trying to make you feel like you really need to respond to things like a text message that would normally never come from an officer,” Davis said.

coleman joins 46 other attorneys general “Bad actors who prey on vulnerable people with illegal robocalls have no place in Kentucky,” they said in calls to improve the Robocall Mitigation Database (RMD).

Davis hopes this will help them see a decrease in incidents moving forward.

“It’s good to know that some of the higher powers are trying to take action,” Davis said.

But he knows these scams will continue to pop up in one way or another, so he’s urging residents to be careful when you pick up the phone.

“Never click on something that doesn’t look familiar to you, or if something seems too good to be true, it probably is,” Davis said.

Richmond Police say they normally never contact citizens via text, and Davis says if you want to verify if an officer is trying to reach you, you can call the non-emergency dispatch line at 859-624-4776.

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