Illinois State Police

We have received multiple calls from the public concerning suspected scam calls. Various ISP districts throughout the state received reports from citizens who said they received calls from individuals claiming to be an officer seeking their personal information. These concerned citizens also reported the caller ID showed the phone number where the calls originated, matches the ISP District number the caller indicates they are calling from.

This type of scam is a common technique known as, “spoofing”. Spoofing is when a phone number is disguised to look like another phone number of their choosing. Usually the number shown on caller ID is some government agency that works with gathering personal information. In these cases, various Illinois State Police District Headquarter numbers are being used. The scammer will then claim there is some police matter that requires the would-be-victims personal information (full name, date of birth, social security number, etc.) to resolve it.

A few factors to consider:

• If an Illinois State Trooper needs personal information, they will usually collect the information during an in-person interview unless previously discussed that they would be in contact for further information.

• These scammers are very aggressive in their techniques to illicit their victims’ to a level of fear that can take them by surprise and gain their personal information. Try to get the name of the Trooper and advise them you will call them back and then hang up. You look up the ISP District phone number they claimed to be calling from and call that number and ask to speak to the Trooper in question. If there is no trooper by the name provided, please advise the call taker of the incident that just occurred. You can use the ISP website to obtain the ISP District phone number at www.isp.illinois.gov.