Category Archives: Scams

APD Warns Residents of Scam Alert

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The Albuquerque Police Department (APD) is warning residents about a scam happening in various neighborhoods throughout Albuquerque. Individuals claiming to work for the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) are going door-to-door attempting to get residents to give out personal information and financial information and trying to get these residents to buy solar or pest control. Some of these individuals wear yellow work vests, carry clipboards and have phony badges with the PNM logo on them. APD reminds residents to always be aware of who knocks on your door and don’t open it to strangers, and to always speak to anyone at your door through the door or a doorbell camera. Residents can also confirm with PNM if these individuals actually work for the company. PNM has confirmed that they do not employ door-to-door salespeople. For more information on protecting yourself against scams and other safety tips, visit: https://www.cabq.gov/police/crime-prevention-safety

NMDOT Warns of Toll Scam

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The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) warns the public of an ongoing text and e-mail message scam, in which recipients receive threatening text or e-mail messages stating they owe fines for unpaid tolls on toll roads. However, New Mexico has no toll roads. If you or someone you know receives this type of text message, do not click on any links or scan any QR codes in the messages, and delete and block the sender. For more information, visit: https://www.dot.nm.gov/blog/2025/05/12/toll-road-scam-alert-new-mexico-has-no-toll-roads/

City Alerts Pet Owners about Scammers

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The Animal Welfare Department (AWD) is warning Albuquerque residents and other animal shelters about telephone scams. Scammers are preying on the vulnerability and hope of pet owners, by exploiting their emotional turmoil for financial gain. The scams are take two different tactics: 

  • Thieves target people who lost pets and ask the owner for payment over the phone to get their lost pet back
  • Owners are told by the caller that their pet needs emergency surgery and demand immediate payment in order to do the surgery. 

If you are contacted by someone claiming to be from AWD and asking for money in relation to your missing pet, exercise extreme caution, even if the call appears to come from a legitimate phone number. Note that AWD does call pet owners to inform them that their pet is at the shelter and will instruct the owner to go to the shelter to reclaim their pet. If the pet is already spayed or neutered, he or she will be returned to the owner free of charge. If the pet is not spayed or neutered, the owner will be told the amount of the reclaim fee and to go to the shelter to pay the fee. However, AWD does not ask for payment ahead of time to reclaim your pet, and would not ask for gift cards, Cash-App or electronic payment. Please report the scams to the Attorney General’s Office Toll Free 1-844-255-9210 and Report scams to the Federal Trade Commission online at: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/.

County Treasurer Warns of Property Tax Scam

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The Bernalillo County Treasurer warns residents of an ongoing scam in which tax notices sent to residents threaten to have property seized. The letters claim to be from the “Tax Processing Unit” with “Bernalillo County County” and state that the federal tax authorities are seeking funds, and without prompt payment, taxpayers will have their properties immediately seized. The scam notification claims the recipients owe nearly $3,500 in unpaid taxes. No deadline date, contact information, or address to send payments are provided. The bogus document reads it is from “Bernalillo County County” which is clearly a mistake. Taxpayers should call the Bernalillo County Treasurer’s Office at 505-468-7031 or visit: www.bernco.gov/Treasurer with any questions about their tax bill.

Phishing Scam Attempts On The Rise As Tax Season Approaches

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Tax season is approaching and employers are issuing W-2s in anticipation. With the onset of Tax Day, phishing scam attempts aimed at identity theft and tax refund theft are on the rise. There is a wide variety of tax-related scam and phishing attempts out there, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers many resources to combat them. To learn about the many scams going around and how you can protect your information and money, visit: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-scams-consumer-alerts