Full Notification

On December 1, the Sumpter Township Police Department was contacted by a Van Buren Township resident about a phone call received earlier in the day by her elderly mother.

Per the resident, a call came in showing on her caller ID as being from the Sumpter Township Police Deptartment and showing the department's office number of 734-461-4833. On the other end of the line was a male speaking in an unrecognized thick foreign accent claiming he was from the police department and that back taxes were owed. He reportedly went on to say that if full payment was not made immediately by credit card over the phone the Sumpter Township Police Department would come to her house and arrest her.

This scam used what is called "Spoofing" to show a different number on the caller ID than the one actually being used and relies on the victim believing that they are in fact being contacted by a legitimate caller, be it a business, municipality, etc. You can read more about "Spoofing" using this link:

http://netsecurity.about.com/od/securityadvisorie1/a/Caller-Id-Spoofing.htm

Instructions:

Never give out credit card information over the phone unless you are completely sure who you are dealing with and/or are the one who placed the call in the first place. In the event that something seems out of sorts after receiving a call asking for such information, take proper steps to confirm the source before giving any information.