To judge from the Metropolitan Police Department’s high-profile recruitment campaign, convincing locals to become cops isn’t easy. That’s not to say no one wants police perks. A March 2 police press release alerts citizens to a duo suspected of swindling residents by posing as cops who need the dough as bait to catch criminals. The pair allegedly make their pitch, flash a “big gold badge,” and promise to return the loot once the case is solved. Though D.C. cops were reduced to paying for equipment out of their own pockets during the city’s budget crisis, the release notes that officers are forbidden to hit citizens up for money. “They’ve got to be pretty good,” says Vincent Tucci, a detective in the Financial Crimes and Fraud Unit. “They talked their way into people’s houses.” —Jason Cherkis