KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The University of Tennessee’s Police Department (UTPD) is warning the parents and families of students to be wary of a scam that has been happening.

According to UTPD, the person running the scam is calling people while posing as a member of the UT Police Department and telling potential victims that their loved one has been arrested. The scammer then demands money, specifically $1,900, to be paid through Venmo or PayPal to circumvent the arrest or to avoid the media being notified.

UT Police explained that the person making the call is using a variety of spoofed numbers, including local 865 area codes. Scammers running similar operations have also been known to use official-sounding names and titles.

The department is asking everyone to remember no one from UTPD will ever ask for money or payments over the phone. They will also never ask for payments through PayPal, Venmo, GreenDot or Western Union.

Anyone who gets a call like the one mentioned above is encouraged to simply hang up.

If you are concerned a similar call may be real, experts also recommend finding the phone number of the official organization that the caller is claiming to be from, rather than the number the person called from or gave for a call back, and calling the organization directly.