MARION, Ill. – We’ve all been victims of phone scammers, even if it’s nothing more than repeated calls from numbers we don’t recognize and if we happen to answer, it just uses up our minutes.
However, Marion City Police are warning of an ongoing scam right now that involves some specifics, and you need to know about them if you’re in the area.
A citizen reported being called by a “spoofed” MPD police number (where the number looks like it comes from a specific business, but really is not) and a “foreign sounding” male subject said he was Detective Matt Brown and was an investigator with the Marion Police. He said he was investigating a fraud and wanted information. The citizen was suspicious and refused to give any information. The male caller eventually hung up.
Next, a citizen received a call from (509) 228-7751 where a male caller advised the citizen that their Windows computer license was expired and their computer was going to “crash.” The caller then directed the citizen to go to Walgreens and purchase a Google Play Card to send them to fix the problem with the computer. The citizen hung up on the caller.
Don’t fall for these….if you get one of these calls where it’s something more than just some individual you don’t understand because of the heavy accent, write down that number and notify your local authorities. Many times these callers can be tracked back. So don’t hesitate…let the law know!