Delaware State Police issue warning on phone number “spoofing” in Sussex County

SUSSEX COUNTY, Del. – Delaware State Police (DSP) are warning people about a recent phone scam involving a spoofed phone number.

Caller ID spoofing is when a caller deliberately falsifies information transmitted to your caller ID display. Usually, spoofing is used to trick victims into giving away personal information.

On February 28th, DSP was notified of two incidents in Sussex County where scammers had made calls from what appeared to be Delaware State Police Troop 5. In one call, the victim was told they had to pay a fine on a sex offender charge. In the other, the victim was threatened with arrest over jury duty fines.

Police say they will never request payment for fines, traffic tickets, or bail. Those transactions are conducted by the respective court systems, and never on the phone. Plus, electronic payments are never requested over the phone for court matters.

The following tips can also help you avoid falling victim to a spoofing scam:

• Don’t answer calls from unknown numbers. If you do so by accident, hang up.
• If a caller suggests hitting a button to stop receiving calls from them, hang up. This can be a trick to engage you in conversation.
• Never give out account numbers, your Social Security Number, passwords or PINs, or your mother’s maiden name.
• If a caller claims to be with a legitimate company, call back using the phone number on a statement you have from them, or on their verified, secure website.  This is particularly important if the caller asks you to verify personal information or make a payment.
• If you are immediately pressured for information, be cautious. You are not obligated to answer any question asked of you.
• Set your own password for your voicemail.  Some voicemail services are set up to automatically allow access to your mailbox if you call in from your own phone. If a scammer spoofs your number, they can access your messages unless there is a password or PIN requirement in place.
• Use a call blocking tool or reputable app on your mobile device.  There are different options for different platforms. Do some research and choose the one that makes the most sense for you.