(CUSTER TOWNSHIP) – On Thursday, February 27th, the Sandusky Police Department and the Sanilac County Sheriff’s Office conducted a joint investigation regarding an attempted telephone scam to a resident of Custer Township.
According to Police Chief Brett Lester. the suspect called stating that he was an agent with the FBI and the caller ID identified the phone number as the Sandusky Police Department’s phone number.
This method is called spoofing and can be done through an App or program to disguise the original caller’s number, email or website link to make it look like its coming from a local area or a reputable source.
The caller told the victim that the victim’s car had been involved in a crime in Texas near the Mexican border. The caller informed the victim that they would have to post ten thousand dollars to get their car back.
The caller asked the victim for the name of the bank that the victim used and account numbers and further attempted to get the victim to provide more detailed information to attempt to fraudulently get funds from the victim.
The victim knew that it was not possible that their vehicle was involved and then ended the phone call with the caller after not providing the caller with detailed information.
The Sandusky Police Department would like to remind everyone to never give out any personal information to anyone over the phone and that the Sandusky Police Department will never solicit anyone for personal information or money over the phone.
