Phone Scam: Caller ID Spoofing

The La Crosse Police Department has received several reports of an attempted phone scam. This scam involves “Caller ID Spoofing”, wherein the caller “spoofs” victims’ cell phones and home phone caller ID units into displaying incorrect or fake information, all in an attempt to gain a measure of trust from the victim. The phone numbers being used in this “Caller ID Spoofing” scam are La Crosse Police Department phone numbers of (608) 789-7200 and (608) 789-7238.

In one case, the caller, who knew the victim’s name, told the victim that the La Crosse Police Department had pending charges for the victim’s arrest. The call was then transferred to another person who had a foreign accent. The victim felt this might be a scam and questioned the caller. The caller became defensive and claimed the Police would be coming to arrest the victim. The victim hung up and contacted the Police Department.

If you get a call like this, do not give the caller any information. Instead, ask for the Officer’s name and badge number, hang up, and then call the La Crosse Police Department non-emergency number at (608) 785-5962 to confirm this information.

Also, if you get any other suspicious calls from unknown persons, remember these following safety tips:

• Never give out your personal information such as birthdate, maiden name, social security number, account IDs or passwords, banking information, etc.
• If the caller identifies the company or agency from which they’re calling, don’t answer any personal questions and hang up.  Find the phone number of that company or agency in the phone book or on their website, call it back, and ask them if they were trying to reach you.
• If you feel you’ve been a target of a phone scam, contact your local law enforcement agency and report it.

To learn more about “Caller ID Spoofing”, visit the FCC’s safety guide.