First Sergeant Jerry Holeman of the Indiana State Police Lafayette District was advised by the Westfield Police Department of scammers using our district phone number to attempt to scam citizens of money or gift cards. The number they were using appears on cell phones and caller ID as 765-567-2125. There are many phone scams currently in our area, and know that the Indiana State Police do not serve arrest warrants by phone and will never call you to request money.
If you receive a call and the number comes up as the Lafayette District number, they will advise you that if you do not send money or gift cards you could be arrested or a warrant for your arrest would be issued. They have also used text messages to try and scam the victims with our number as the sender.
Other popular phone scams in our area currently are the “Jury Duty” or “FBI” where the caller tells you there is an arrest warrant for you because you missed jury duty. Then like all of the phone scams, they demand you send them money by pre-paid credit card to avoid arrest. Other popular scams in our area are the IRS scam, Publisher’s Clearinghouse and the Grandparent -grandchild in need scam.
When receiving a call, never assume the caller ID is correct, and know that scammers will often use the names of local officers or agencies or even your own family members. If you receive a call from a number you don’t recognize, don’t answer. If it’s someone that needs you, they will leave a voicemail. If in doubt, call the local agency or family member back to verify the call or voicemail.
Most importantly, never be tempted to give out private information such as date of birth, social security number, or credit card numbers over the phone. Never be pressured into making a hasty decision over the telephone and always think twice before sending money by prepaid card or wire transfer. Transactions like these are nearly impossible to trace once sent.