The Warren Police Department is warning residents about a phone scam in which individuals posing as law enforcement officers are demanding payment to resolve fictitious warrants.

 Police said in a news release that scammers are contacting residents and claiming they have outstanding warrants. The suspects then instruct victims to pay a fee over the phone, typically using gift cards or cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, and to transfer the funds to an account provided by the caller.

"At NO TIME will anyone from the Warren Police Department contact anyone asking for payment over the phone to resolve warrants," the department emphasized in its release.

The department urged residents who receive such calls to hang up immediately and contact the Warren Police Department or the agency the caller claims to represent to report the incident.

"If anyone is contacted by someone claiming to be a law enforcement officer and asking for these types of payments, we ask that you hang up the phone and contact the Warren Police Department, or the agency the suspect is claiming to be employed, and report the incident," the release stated.

The Warren Police Department did not immediately provide details on the number of those targeted or the money lost in the scam.