{"id":350221,"date":"2024-07-05T13:58:07","date_gmt":"2024-07-05T03:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=350221"},"modified":"2024-07-05T21:05:58","modified_gmt":"2024-07-05T11:05:58","slug":"scammers-pretend-to-be-police","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2024\/07\/05\/scammers-pretend-to-be-police\/","title":{"rendered":"Scammers Pretend To Be Police"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>July 5, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

Detectives have issued a warning about criminals “spoofing” Queensland Police Service phone numbers to make scam calls look more legitimate.<\/p>\n

Recent reports from the Toowoomba area indicate the scammers are using “caller ID spoofing” to manipulate the telephone network to indicate the incoming call is from a different number (in these cases a Queensland Police Service telephone number).<\/p>\n

Residents have received a call from what appears to be a trusted or well-known government phone number.<\/p>\n

The caller impersonates an employee from the organisation (in this case a police officer) to legitimise the scam.<\/p>\n

The scammer then threatens the recipient in relation to an outstanding fine or fee, a tax debt or a warrant for their arrest or deportation and demands payment to prevent action being taken.<\/p>\n

This type of scam has been around for some time but police are concerned the version using a spoofed police phone number has an extra layer of deception which may result in more members of the public falling victim.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Detective Acting Superintendent Vince Byrnes, from the Financial and Cyber Crime Group, urged Queenslanders\u00a0 to always be vigilant when receiving phone calls from people asking for money or personal details.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolice, or any other legitimate government department or financial institution, will never call you and ask for your personal banking information or payments in gift cards, cryptocurrency or money transfers,” he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important to take independent steps to verify a caller\u2019s identity before providing any personal information or payments of any sort, irrespective of the phone number displayed, or who a caller claims to work for.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease make your own inquiries if you do receive a phone call from what appears to be a police station. Take down the caller’s details, find a number yourself and dial it in, rather than returning a call you may have missed or were directed to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Queensland Police officers will never:<\/strong><\/p>\n