Washington State Patrol phone number being used in ‘spoofing’ scam
The State Patrol warned Washington residents Tuesday that fraudulent bomb threats are being used to drive people to a suspicious website in an apparent scam attempt.
Spokesman Chris Loftis said the State Patrol learned late Monday afternoon that an agency phone number is being “spoofed.” Also referred to as “number hijacking,” spoofing is when a caller masquerades as someone else by forging the number that appears on caller ID devices.
The State Patrol released a copy of the 16-second robocall, in which a male voice with a British accent states: “Twenty-one hours ago, we placed three pocket-sized explosive devices in three different locations around you.” The voice then directs the person who gets the call or voicemail to a website address “to stay alive.”
Loftis said the “tone, substance and fraudulent use of a WSP number as its apparent origin on this call” is designed to confuse or frighten the unsuspecting and vulnerable.
“Law enforcement and consumer protection advocates advise anyone who receives suspicious and unscheduled communications either by phone, text or email to avoid logging on to suggested websites, calling unknown numbers, or providing personal information at the prompting of strangers,” Loftis added in a written statement.
The number being used in the spoofing is the State Patrol’s District 2 non-emergency number in Bellevue. On caller ID, it shows up as “State Police and Highway Patrol.”
“The target of the illegal procedure might respond to the call or give it undue credibility because of the trusted name or number displayed or the message delivered,” Loftis said.
Loftis said there is no connection with the bomb threat that was called into the Legislative Building on Monday afternoon that forced an evacuation. No bomb was found after the troopers using K-9 dogs swept the building, more commonly known as the Capitol.
Multiple law enforcement agencies across the state have received calls from citizens about the message, Loftis said. He added there is no indication that the calls are a threat, but the State Patrol is advising anyone who receives a threatening call of any sort to contact law enforcement by calling 911.
Finding the person or persons behind the apparent scam attempt is a big challenge, given the huge number of robo-calls made each year in the United States and the possibility that the perpetrators are based overseas, Loftis said.
“There’s not a lot of hope in stopping folks. All we really can do is let people know that they need to be vigilant. We all have to recognize that there are people out there who are trying to take advantage of technology. They are trying to steal your money and in this case, they are trying to do that by stealing your piece of mind,” he said.
This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 12:21 PM.
