COLLINSVILLE – It seems these days scams are developing everywhere across the country, but one of the latest is one where the caller ID comes up “Illinois Police.”
Sgt. Snyder from the Illinois State Police District 11 office, said about two calls a day come in regard to this scam, asking information.
“Sometimes the people provide some pretty abrasive threats that you will be arrested unless you give them so much money,” Snyder said. “The Illinois State Police never works over the phone on these issues and would visit in person. If a call comes up and says it is from the Illinois Police, tell them to verify who they are with their name and ID number.”
For the elderly, someone making this type of comment might be persuasive, especially with the words Illinois Police on the caller ID.
Snyder said if someone provides a name of a known officer, a person should still get the ID number and contact the local office for more information.
One person who received a call over the weekend reported the person on the other end claimed this was a fund-raiser for the Illinois State Police. When the person said there is no way they would give them their credit card number for that, they immediately reacted in terse fashion and hung up the phone.
“Before I told them I wouldn’t give my credit card number, this person was as nice and convincing as anyone I had ever talked to,” the person said. “I can see how a lot of elderly people might fall to someone like this. It was upsetting to me to think about older people getting this same call, because those people are normally extremely loyal to the Illinois State Police.”
Sgt. Snyder urged anyone who receives a call for this type of threat to immediate contact the Illinois Attorney General’s office at 1-800-243-0618.
