Several Pella area residents were on the receiving end of dozens of phone calls from overseas’ phone numbers Tuesday night.

Pella Police Captain Paul Haase says the department has been made aware of the situation, in which individuals with 515 and 641 area codes received a blast of spamming phone calls from numbers that are listed in Barbados, some mentioning giveaways or special vacations.

Haase says these calls are part of a larger scam, in an attempt to get a user to call back and reveal personal information. The Pella Police Department reminds all residents to never give out any personal information, such as bank account or credit card numbers, social security or other identification in a phone call that is received from an unknown number, as government agencies, utility companies, and legitimate debt collectors or private businesses do not conduct business in this way over the phone or ask for payment by gift cards or prepaid means.

Additionally, Haase suggests exploring options to find legitimate call screening apps or to see what technology is available through phone providers or device manufacturers to screen and block spam and scam calls.

If someone has given out personal information, that is the time when they need to call a local law enforcement agency, the bank and/or financial institute dealing with the information that was accessed, or make a report on www.ic3.gov (a victim geared reporting website).