Mercersburg Police Department issues spoof alert about phone calls

The Mercersburg Police Department is warning local residents about fake calls that appear to be from its phone number.

“A spoofed phone call is one that says that it’s coming from one specific phone number, person or company when it pops up on your phone’s screen but is in fact being made by a completely different phone number,” explained John D. Zechman, police chief.

People who live in Mercersburg and surrounding townships have been receiving the calls that show up on caller ID as the Mercersburg Police Department and its actual number, 717-328-0150.

The people who reported the calls hung up because the caller had a foreign accent, so it is not known what the scam involves, Zechman said in an April 18 news release.

Planning for the future: Proposed emergency services complex in Waynesboro receives $1.1 million federal grant

Be on the look out: Chambersburg police warn citizens after violent crimes in Southgate, Rail Trail area

“Spoofing is relatively easy to do by individuals and companies, which means that you can’t always trust what the caller ID says when the phone call is received,” Zechman said. “Often a reverse caller ID check will simply redial the number displayed by the spoofing, not the actual number behind the call.”

The Mercersburg Police Department will never call people and ask for money or account information.

Anyone who gets a call they think is a spoof should not give out personal information and should hang up and call the police at 717-328-0150.

What to do when you get a spoofed phone call

Zechman offered the following advice for people who think a call is a spoof:

Avoid sharing personal or financial information.

Spoofing is frequently used by phone scammers who try to steal your data. Legitimate companies rarely ask for bank account or credit card numbers or your Social Security number.

Don’t send money to spoof callers.

In general, you shouldn’t send money to anyone that calls you on the phone. If someone says you owe money, hang up and dial the company’s official contact number to confirm.

Block repeat callers.

If a number continues to call you, block it. Even if the spoofed phone number is robocalling you, you can still block robocalls.

Don’t reply to texts.

Replying to suspicious texts, even if they prompt you to reply with a word or number to opt out of future texts, can result in getting even more scam calls and messages. Simply delete the message and block the spoofed number.

Report the number.

If you suspect that the phone number is being spoofed for illegal or suspicious reasons, you can report it to the FTC and other organizations for investigation.

This article originally appeared on Waynesboro Record Herald: Mercersburg Police Department says spoof calls use its number for scam