The Idaho State Police (ISP) is warning the public about a scam in which callers are spoofing ISP phone numbers, making it appear the calls are coming from official ISP dispatch centers. These calls are not from the ISP.
In recent days, ISP received multiple reports of individuals receiving suspicious calls from numbers that appeared to be from ISP. In one disturbing incident, a parent answered back-to-back calls from a man claiming to be a medic and insinuated that their child was in distress. He requested the child’s name, and the parents heard the sound of crying in the background. Thankfully, the child was safe at school, but the incident serves as a stark reminder of the manipulative tactics employed by scammers.
“These calls are not coming from the Idaho State Police. This scam is designed to play on the hearts of potential victims and undermines trust in first responders,” Captain Tyler Jussel of the ISP Regional Communications Center said. “By spoofing first responders and dispatch centers, these scammers try to gain credibility in their deception. We want the public to know that ISP will never call in this manner.”
Protect yourself against spoofing scams:
- Don’t provide personal information such as names, addresses, or account details over the phone unless you are certain of who is calling.
- Hang up immediately if the call seems suspicious.
- Verify before trusting – if a caller claims to be law enforcement, hang up and call the agency back directly using their publicly listed phone number.
Scammers thrive on fear and urgency. Take a moment to pause and verify before responding to any call. If you receive a suspicious call, don’t hesitate to hang up and report it to your local law enforcement agency and the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Your caution could be the difference between falling victim to a scam and staying safe.
