DSP advising of phone spoofing scam

DOVER, Del. – Delaware State Police recently learned of two incidents of a phone scam involving a spoofed phone number.

In both incidents, the victim received a call from a female claiming to be an agent from Dover, Delaware. The caller identified herself as Agent Lisa Smith, and provided a badge number #K4L14799.

The caller then told victims that an abandoned vehicle was found in Texas with their name and social security number, and provided victims with several addresses, asking them to confirm where they have resided in the past. The caller also suggested that the victims look up the phone that she was calling from so that they would see it is a Delaware State Police issued phone number.

The caller told victims that if they didn’t give her the information she was seeking, she would send the police to their home immediately.

Caller ID spoofing is when a caller intentionally falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID in order to disguise their identity. Spoofing is commonly used as a way to try to trick someone into giving out valuable personal information so it can be used in fraudulent activity or even sold illegally.

If you suspect that you have been a victim of this scam, you should contact your local law enforcement agency or Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333. Tips on how to avoid spoofing scams can be found here.