EASTON, Pa. — Easton Police Department is advising residents to be aware of scammers spoofing their phone number, according to a release from Crimewatch posted this week.
Department officials said they had been informed of scammers spoofing people with the department’s phone number, 610-250-2282, to request money from them, or even threaten them with legal action if they do not comply.
Spoofing is defined as faking the sending address of a transmission to gain illegal entry into a secure system by the Computer Security Resource Center.
On occasion, they will provide the target with another phone number, often a call center, which continues the grift and pushes the victim to offer payment over the phone.
As per the Federal Trade Commission, spoofing, particularly “caller ID spoofing,” is when “a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity.”
Easton Police Department emphasized they will never contact anyone to solicit payments in exchange for addressing any situation related to alleged criminal activities.
The department said any officer attempting to reach someone by phone will clearly identify themselves and provide a very specific reason for the call, adding residents should never provide any financial or personal information, including credit or debit card numbers.
Department officials added that if someone receives such a call, they should never agree to a wire transfer or the purchase of gift cards to pay the caller.
“If you do receive a suspicious phone call, hang up and call 610-250-2282 or 610-759-2200 to ensure you are speaking to a valid member of the police department,” the EPD statement reads.
While the practice of spoofing is nothing new, utilizing police departments to solicit money from fearful victims has become increasingly prevalent over the past few years.
According to the Law Enforcement Cyber Center, “Scammers will often spoof law enforcement agencies’ phone numbers to target victims into thinking the police, a trusted source, is calling them.”
These callers often play on that sense of authority to force victims to pay them to avoid prison time, or to dismiss outstanding warrants, whereas law enforcement will never engage in such an action.
