GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Don’t be fooled by someone calling you claiming to be a Green Bay Police Department employee telling you that you’ve been cheating on your taxes related to student loans.
Green Bay police say it’s a scam.
According to the department, someone has been targeting female college students with these calls. The person tells the victim she is not paying her student loans, and proceeds to ask for money.
In a statement, police say no department employee would make such calls.
The caller using a spoofed number on caller ID, so it shows up in the victim’s phone as coming from (920) 448-3200. This is not the actual number the person is calling from.
Police are sharing these tips to help people protect themselves:
- You may not be able to tell right away if an incoming call is spoofed. Be careful about responding to ANY request for personal identifying information
- Never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, mother’s maiden names, passwords or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls or if you are at all suspicious.
- If you get an inquiry from someone who says they represent a company or a government agency seeking personal information, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement, in the phone book or on the company’s or government agency’s website to verify the authenticity of the request.
- Use caution if you are being pressured for information immediately
- If you have a voice mail account with your phone service, be sure to set a password for it. Some voicemail services are preset to allow access if you call in from your own phone number. A hacker could spoof your home phone number and gain access to your voice mail if you do not set a password.
