Caller ID Spoofing: Cape May Prosecutors Warn Residents To Beware

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE, NJ — The Cape May County Prosecutor's Office is alerting residents of an increase in spoof calls to resident's homes and cellular phones.

According to the Federal Communications Commission, spoofing is when a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity. Scammers will often use "neighbor spoofing" so it appears that the call is coming from a friend, legitimate business or government agency.

In recent weeks, scammers have spoofed numerous Cape May County phone numbers.

If you receive any calls from any Cape May County Office or the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office demanding payment for an "active warrant," residents are advised to hang up immediately.

Cape May County authorities will not reach out to individuals via telephone demanding payment for warrants or any other cause, over the telephone.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) monitors these spoof calls and shared a website for reporting these incidents.

Here are some tips from the FCC to help keep you from becoming the next caller ID spoofing target:

• Don't answer calls from unknown numbers. If you answer such a call, hang up immediately.
• If you answer the phone and the caller (or a recording) asks you to hit a button to stop getting the calls, you should just hang up. Scammers often use this trick to identify potential targets.
• Do not respond to any questions, especially those that can be answered with "Yes" or "No."
• Never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, mother's maiden names, passwords or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls or if you are at all suspicious.
• If you get an inquiry from someone who says they represent a company or a government agency, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement, in the phone book, or on the company's or government agency's website to verify the authenticity of the reques

Prosecutor Sutherland advises that any individuals who are in doubt of the authenticity of a phone call to contact their local police department or the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office at 609-465-1135 for further assistance.

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