Police in San Antonio, Texas are warning residents of a rise in phone scams where scammers are pretending to be local police calling.

Authorities at the Schertz police department says that scammers are not only identifying themselves as police but they are phone-spoofing to manipulate the Caller ID so it comes up as the police calling you.

What is Phone-Spoofing?

Spoofing in the context of phone scams is a technique where scammers manipulate the Caller ID information displayed on a recipient's phone. This allows them to make it appear as though the call is coming from a trusted source, such as a local number, a government agency, or a well-known business, even though the call is actually originating from the scammer.

In this case in Texas, scammers are identifying themselves as police, FBI and even Border Patrol agents according to MYSA.

The purpose of spoofing is to trick the recipient into answering the call and potentially falling victim to the scam. Spoofed calls can be used for various fraudulent activities, such as phishing for personal information, conducting fake debt collection, or even impersonating law enforcement to coerce money from victims. Because the Caller ID information is falsified, it can be challenging to trace the origin of the call, making it difficult to catch the scammers.

According to a news release from Schertz Police Chief Jim Lowery, one simple way to protect yourselves from the scam is to "simply hang up".

 Don’t be intimidated into providing personal details or financial information.

It's important to remember that actual police won't ask for personal information over the phone and if you believe you have fallen victim to a scam like this, immediately alert your bank!