Massachusetts State Police Issue Hoax Alert
Massachusetts State Police (Facebook)
The Massachusetts State Police have issued a hoax alert after a woman living in New York City alerted them to a phone call she received asking for her personal information.
The Caller ID on her phone indicated that the call was coming from (508) 820-2300. That number belongs to the headquarters for the Massachusetts State Police in Framingham.
State Police say they did not make the call but it was an example of phone number spoofing, where a hoaxer pretends to be calling from a different phone number than their own.
State Police say, “It is fairly common for hoaxers to use police numbers to give their fraudulent calls an appearance of credibility or to support their malicious intent to get someone’s personal information.” in a statement posted on their Facebook page.
Please be aware that the Massachusetts State Police (or any other police department) will never call people looking for personal information.
If you happen to receive a call from a number you do not recognize (or even a number that you do recognize, but not who you think they are on the phone) hang up immediately.
Suspicious calls pretending to be from Massachusetts State Police should be reported to them (508) 820-2121.