Caller ID Spoofing Scam: City Of Calistoga Warns Residents

CALISTOGA, CA — The city of Calistoga alerted community members Thursday about a new scam involving fraudsters who call from a phone number that shows up on caller ID as the Calistoga Chamber of Commerce.

"We were just made aware of a IRS phone call scam going around, in which the telephone number is being disguised as the telephone number for Calistoga Chamber of Commerce," the city said. "The phone call is not a legitimate phone call, and the caller ID appears to be spoofed."

Spoofing, according to the Federal Communications Commission, is when a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to caller ID display to disguise their identity.

"Scammers often use neighbor spoofing so it appears that an incoming call is coming from a local number, or spoof a number from a company or a government agency that you may already know and trust. If you answer, they use scam scripts to try to steal your money or valuable personal information, which can be used in fraudulent activity."

The FCC offers the below tips to avoid falling prey to a Caller ID spoofer.