Scammers Spoofing FBI Phone Numbers to Fool Victims

[nitpicker]

https://www.fbi.gov/stlouis/press-releases/2016/scammers-spoofing-fbi-phone-numbers-to-fool-victims

Scammers Spoofing FBI Phone Numbers to Fool Victims


FBI St. Louis
March 16, 2016

Rebecca Wu
[phone]

The FBI St. Louis Division is warning the public about a phone scam that spoofs, or fraudulently displays, the FBI’s real telephone number on the victim’s caller ID. The latest iteration of the scam claims the victims are being investigated by the FBI for a tax violation. In some cases, the scammers are calling victims in Western Missouri and spoofing the phone numbers of the FBI offices in Eastern Missouri.

Last October, FBI St. Louis Division issued a news release warning the public about a phone scam spoofing FBI phone numbers to target college students claiming the victim was delinquent on student loans, taxes, or even parking tickets.
(snip)

The FBI strongly encourages anyone contacted by a caller who says they are with the FBI to verify the information with the Bureau. The main telephone number for the FBI in St. Louis is 314-589-2500; contact information for other FBI field offices can be found at www.fbi.gov.

Additionally, in similar scams, callers have claimed to be with the IRS, DEA, or another government agency. As above, be suspicious and verify the caller’s information with the appropriate agency.

If you are a victim of a phone or an online scam, you can file an online complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (www.IC3.gov).

[hobbit709]

1. the FBI wouldn't be calling you on the phone, they'd be at your door.

[Nye Bevan]

2. And they probably wouldn't tell you to go to the grocery store and buy a Green Dot Money Card

to take care of the fine and end the "investigation" (which is what a fake IRS caller with a strong Indian accent instructed me to do a couple of years ago).

[stifler]

3. Received one of those calls

Got a call from one of them several weeks ago, the exact same number above appeared on my caller ID, and one more call 2 or 3 days after the first call came from another 314 number. Checked it on Google and many reports have been filed like at http://whycall.me. I'm glad I searched them on Google before doing anything.