South Milwaukee police warn of "spoofing" scam

SOUTH MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- South Milwaukee Police are alerting their residents about a scam known as "spoofing."

Officers have received a report from an elderly citizen that they had received several phone calls from a company trying to solicit money. The caller identified them self as being from the “Martinez Law Firm” in Lawrence, Kansas with a phone number of 785-371-3081.   The caller told the citizen if she did not pay $250.00 by 2 p.m. Friday that an arrest warrant would be issued for her. 

A short time later, she received another call from a person giving the name of an officer who works for the South Milwaukee Police Department.  The caller ID also showed that the call had originated from the South Milwaukee Police Department. The caller at this time threatened to arrest her on the warrant if she did not pay by 2 p.m. The citizen then came to the police department to find out what was happening.

Investigation revealed that this is a scam that has been running and that the suspect caller had “spoofed” the number to make it appear that the call had come from the South Milwaukee Police Department.  The first call was also determined to not have come from a law firm in Kansas.  The call actually was found to have originated somewhere in Pakistan. The caller confessed to running a scam to try to get money from people by saying they were the police. 

Due to the international nature of this incident, enforcement actions will be difficult. The best protection is for citizens to be aware of this scam and report these issues to their local police.

Citizens should know that the South Milwaukee Police Department will not call people on the phone regarding these types of issues.

If you receive a phone call of this nature, please contact your local police department.