Phone Scam Uses Local Police Phone Number: Issaquah, Bellevue PD

ISSAQUAH, WA — Be careful if you see the phone number for your local police department pop up on your caller ID.

Over the last 24 hours, Bellevue and Issaquah police have reported that scammers are using department phone numbers to defraud local residents. When you answer the call, the person on the other end says they're from the police department, and then demands information like Social Security and bank account numbers.

"This is never information that the Social Security Administration or police would ask for over the phone. If you receive one of these calls, please hang up immediately and call Issaquah Police at (425) 837-3200 (it will go to the police) and report the fraudulent caller, or come to the police department," Issaquah police advised.

Unfortunately, this is a common scam. Fraudsters use a technique called "spoofing" to impersonate local phone numbers all the time.

"Caller ID spoofing is when a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity. Spoofing is often used as part of an attempt to trick someone into giving away valuable personal information so it can be used in fraudulent activity or sold illegally, but also can be used legitimately, for example, to display the toll-free number for a business," the Federal Communications Commission described in a bulletin about phone spoofing.