Minnesota State Patrol Warns Of Spoofing Scam
If you get a call from someone claiming to be from the Minnesota State Patrol, think before you answer. The Minnesota State Patrol just shared that scammers are posing as members of the patrol and making it seem legitimate by spoofing the real number of the organization.
They warned Minnesotans of the scam on Monday (April 17th), writing that scammers were using the phone number of their main headquarters to get people to answer the phone. Once they do just that, the scammers tell them they are victims of identity theft, causing panic and urgency.
In case you're curious, the main headquarters phone number is 651-201-7100. Why would you get a call from Minnesota State Patrol? You wouldn't. According to their post, they don't contact the public and especially not for identity theft. If you think about it, it really doesn't even make sense.
If you get a call like this, take a moment and don't panic. It is always best to hang up the phone and tell them you will call back. Once you do hang up, call the organization directly and confirm if the call is real. This goes for this particular scam and any other scam which involves getting a call from a specific organization.
There seems to be no end in sight to the scams these days. Scammers have found new and different ways to scam people, from a recent letter scam targeting Minnesotans in a small town to real estate scams targeting the Minnesota housing market. It seems there is a new one every single day so stay vigilant out there, especially with scams over the internet or phone.