The Dallas Police Department is warning residents to protect themselves from scammers who call them using Caller ID Spoofing.
The Dallas PD announced on the DPD Beat that it has become aware of a phone call scam where scammers called their victims utilizing Caller ID Spoofing and pretending to be officers of the department.
Dallas police described spoofing as an act where callers deliberately falsify the information transmitted to the receiver’s caller ID display to disguise their identity.
Dallas police revealed that the scammers mostly use neighbor spoofing to deceive their victims into thinking the incoming call is from a local number or spoof a number from a company or a government agency that their victims know and trust.
The department added that the scammers use scam scripts to steal their victims’ money when they answer. Police said that the scammers can also steal valuable personal information from their victims, using it for fraudulent activity.
Dallas PD warned residents that the scammers are now spoofing the Central Investigative Unit’s phone number, 214-670-4414, to deceive their victims into thinking they received a legitimate phone call from the Dallas Police Department. Dallas PD said the scammers might tell their victims that they are part of an investigation and demand the victim’s personal information.
The department is advising the general public that it will never call anyone and demand financial payment of any kind from them. The department urges residents to be aware of calls demanding personal information as they could also originate from other phone numbers. Residents are also warned that the scammers could also use other illegal methods to solicit their personal information.
Dallas police said that the bulk of the spoofing calls originates from foreign countries and will be investigated by the FBI. The Dallas Police Department asks any resident who has received any such calls to report them to the FBI-Internet Crime Complaint Center here.
