PSP: That wasn't us calling you.

Gordon Rago
York Daily Record

 

Police lights by night

Don't be fooled. That phone call from Pennsylvania State Police demanding money isn't real.

Police issued a statewide alert this past weekend, warning residents about a Commonwealth resident receiving such a call.

It came in on May 25, appearing to be from a state police station. The resident did not answer two calls.

But the next day, another number popped up, from another state police barrack. 

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The man answered the phone, and the caller said he was being investigated by the FBI for tax evasion. The caller instructed him to pay $8,000 to satisfy a warrant, police said.

After the man refused, the caller informed him that police were being dispatched to his home. The man hung up.

A state police news release on the calls did not say where the man lives or which station the calls appeared to have originated from.

Police characterized such phone calls as "spoofing," or when a caller "deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to a caller ID to disguise their identity."

That way, the caller can more easily trick a person into turning over personal information or, in this case, money.

The message? Don't do that during an unsolicited telephone call or email.

For more information, state police encouraged residents to get informed. You can visit IRS warning pages about these types of phone calls. Additionally, you can file a complaint with the FCC.