TROY, Mich. – Police said scammers have been spoofing official numbers to scam citizens into sending them cash or gift cards.
Troy police said there have been two recent incidents where scammers have posed as law enforcement officers. One pretended to be from the FBI and another from the Royal Oak Police Department.
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In both incidents the scammers spoofed the actual numbers from the real agencies and the caller ID appeared to show the actual numbers. Police said if you ever receive a call where someone demands cash or gift cards hang up and call the actual, listed number for the agency.
In the first incident a Troy resident got a call from a scammer posing as an FBI employee called “Officer Michael Brown.” The caller ID showed a Troy Police Department number. The scammer told the resident to to go Target and get gift cards totaling $1,360 and give the caller the numbers on the cards or she would go to jail.
In the second incident police said the victim got a call from someone pretending to be a detective from the Royal Oak Police Department. The scammer told the victim that she had failed to show up for a court case and that she would need to pay $7,200 in prepaid cash gift cards or she’d go to jail. The victim also provided the scammer with her social security card and other documents.
The caller ID in the second case showed the Royal Oak Police Department’s actual number, but it was a scammer. The victim did not have a warrant or even any contact with police.
Troy police said the scammers can be convincing and sound official.