Illinois residents are being warned of a “spoofing” scam, where callers will pretend to be calling from a specific agency, when in reality they’re trying to get your personal information.
The Illinois State Police said they’ve gotten reports about suspected scam calls from people claiming to be with the Illinois State Police.
In a statement police said the callers were described as having foreign accents and asking for personal information like full name, birth date and social security number. Some reports indicated that callers told them there was “some police matter that needs to be resolved” that required giving up that personal information.
The calls showed up on caller ID as being from the Illinois State Police Department. Police explained that this type of scam is called “spoofing,” which is when a number is disguised to look like its coming from a different place. In these cases, the numbers reportedly matched designated Illinois State Police Districts.
Police say if you get a call that sounds like this, ask the caller to identify their name; if they claim to be a trooper, tell them you will call them back. Then, police advise looking up the number for the Illinois State Police district they claimed to be calling from and then asking for that trooper by name.
District phone numbers can be found on the Illinois State Police Website
“If there is not a trooper by that name, please advise the call taker of the incident that just occurred,” read the police statement.
Police said usually if troopers need personal information from you, they will come collect it in an in-person interview. A trooper will never ask for your social security number over the phone.
