Bartlett Police Department Financial Crimes Unit

Email A Financial Crimes Investigator

The Financial Crimes Unit within the Bartlett Police Department investigates forgeries, identity theft, credit card and bank fraud, and other economic crimes.  These crimes must occur at a physical location within the city limits of Bartlett (not online).  If you are a citizen of Bartlett and the crime occurred in another city, you must report that crime with the jurisdiction in which it occurred.   

If you are a victim of a financial crime that was initiated through an email, text message or phone call, you can report it at identitytheft.gov and/or FTC.gov with the Federal Trade Commission.  The FTC will provide you with a report that you can use to submit to your financial institution.  The FTC will also assist you in creating a recovery plan and help you put that plan into action.  Please visit these web pages.       

Familiarize yourself with the valuable information before you become a victim of financial crime.  

Share this information with family and friends.  

Types of Fraud You May Encounter

Email Fraud, Phishing or Spoofs 

Fraudulent emails and websites designed to elicit your personal information can be very sophisticated and deceiving.  Fraudulent emails, known as “phishing”, can look very similar to communications from your financial institution or other creditors.  If you receive an email from what appears to be from your financial institution asking you to click a link to “update information”, DO NOT click the link and provide information.  Call your financial institution or log into your account from the financial institutions website to verify information.  Let the fraud department from your financial institution know about the phishing email.

We are now seeing an increase in text message and phone call “phishing or spoofing”.  DO NOT click on text message links or answer phone call questions.  Simply delete texts, hang up calls and contact your financial institution or bill creditor directly to verify information.  

Identity Theft 

There are various types of scams and ways that a criminal may use account information fraudulently, normally for account takeover only.  Account takeover occurs when a fraudster obtains account information to perpetrate fraud on existing accounts.  Account takeover is very different from identity theft and should be immediately reported to the financial institution affected.  

Identity theft occurs when someone uses personal identifying information which can include your name, social security number, back account number or anything else fixed to your “identity”.  This information is used to commit fraud or other crimes, such as opening new accounts, taking out credit and/or purchasing goods or services in the victim’s name.  

Remember…Be Vigilant and Protect Your Personal Information