Some Warren Countians received recorded calls on Sunday and Monday nights from someone trying to get their credit card information.

Officer Barry Pruitt, spokesman for the Bowling Green Police Department, said that he, along with many others, received a call from someone purporting to be from Southeast Financial Credit Card Company.

The caller told residents their credit card information had been compromised and to press one to speak to the security department, Pruitt said.

Investigation of the calls indicates they were most likely coming from somewhere in Canada, Pruitt said.

There is a legitimate Southeast Financial Credit Union, but it does not appear to have authorized the calls, Pruitt said.

The calls were being made to residences between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., he said, and city police received a number of complaints about them.

“Everywhere I went around town Monday, people were talking about the calls,” he said. “It appears that they were focused on our calling area and made a large number of calls.”

James Hendricks, supervisory senior resident agent for the FBI in Bowling Green, said he also received a call at home. The message said his account was being closed because of illegal activity.

He was then instructed to press one if he didn’t want his account closed, he said.

“I hit one and it immediately told me to enter my credit card number. I knew instantly that it was a scam,” Hendricks said.

The calls are part of a common scam technique, he said. Scammers are able to use technology to block their actual location from showing up on caller ID.

People should never give out personal information over the phone, he said. If they doubt the call’s validity, they should hang up and call their credit card company.

It appears from talking to other agencies that the calls were limited to the Warren County area, Hendricks said.

“People just need to be more vigilant in protecting their personal information,” he said.

No one should provide any type of credit card or personal information to anyone who calls them on the phone, Pruitt said.

“Unless you initiated the call, you don’t have any clue who might be on the other end of the line,” he said.

If someone contacts you with this type of issue, get contact information from them and check the number with your credit card company and then call them back, Pruitt said.

If anyone gave their credit card information, they should contact their credit card company as quickly as possible, Pruitt said.

The FBI is also requesting that anyone who feels they may have become victims of this scam to report the incident to the agency’s Internet Crime Complaint Center online at www.ic3.gov/default.aspx. They may also contact city police at 393-2473.