COLLINSVILLE – It seems these days, there is always a scam of some sort out there.
A warning from both Illinois State Police District 11 and District 18 was issued within the last day warning of a public phone scam circulating throughout the area and state.
The Illinois State Police said in this particular phone scam, an individual will call and claim to be associated with the ISP or the “Illinois Police.” The caller will then ask for a donation or advise there is a warrant out for your arrest and you need to send money.
The caller ID may say “Illinois Police” or “Illinois State Police.” The phone number associated with the call may be a (618) area code but phone scammers have the ability to quickly change the phone number that is displayed on caller ID. Citizens should be wary of calls soliciting money regardless of what number is displayed, particularly if threats are made by the caller or they become pushy, the State Police said.
The State Police reminded people that it will never call to solicit money on behalf of the department or ask a person to send money to them for any reason. The ISP encourages those that believe they have been the victim of a phone scam to call 1-800-243-0607 and report it to the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.
For information on the different types of phone scams and indicators of phone scams please visit the Illinois Attorney General website or the Federal Trade Commission at:
http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumers/phonescams.html
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/scam-alerts
