The Maryland State Police are warning the public about the newest scam making the rounds where the caller clones a state police number.
On Thursday morning, the Maryland State Police said they got a call from a woman who said her caller ID showed the Maryland State Government, and the number matched the phone number for the Maryland State Police Leonardtown Barrack. The caller then tried to tell her she was a suspect in a drug trafficking investigation and she needed to give her Social Security number and other personal information.
This is just one example of several phone scams recently reported to the Maryland State Police. The Salisbury Barrack said they have had reports of scam where the victims are threatened with arrest or the continued detention of a family member if they do not send money, account numbers, or purchase a re-loadable gift or credit cards.
The Maryland State Police also say they have received reports of IRS and Social Security scans across Maryland as well. They sent the following statement regarding all of the reprioted scams.
The Maryland State Police, along with government agencies like the Social Security Administration or the Internal Revenue Service, would never solicit such information or services over the phone from any citizen. Never give any personal information over the phone, and only allow a qualified reputable computer technician the ability to repair your computer should it become infected with a virus. Many of these telephone scams are disguising themselves by utilizing local telephone number prefixes.
If you ever recieve one of these calls, hang up immediately and call your local police. Callers may remain anonymous.
