Warning over new scam impersonating Queensland police officers
Authorities have issued a warning after scammers were found to be impersonating Queensland police to obtain personal information over the phone.
Police have received reports that community members have received calls appearing to be from various police stations.
They say it's a case of caller ID spoofing, where criminals hide their number and display a different number to indicate the call is from a trusted organisation.
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The scammer then demands a form of payment or requests personal information to confirm an identity.
"Police, or any other legitimate government department or financial institution, will never call you and ask for your personal banking information or payments in gift cards, cryptocurrency or money transfers," Detective acting Superintendent Kerry Lofdahl said.
"It is important to take independent steps to verify a caller's identity before providing any personal information or payments of any sort, irrespective of the phone number displayed, or who a caller claims to work for.
"Make your own enquiries if you do receive a phone call from what appears to be a police station, take down the caller's details, find a number yourself and dial it in, rather than returning a call you may have missed or were directed to."
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Queenslanders are urged to never provide personal or private details over the phone and to hang up if the person avoids answering questions, refuses to provide information or makes a threat.
Anyone who has received such a call and made a payment to a scammer is asked to contact their financial institution and report the matter to the Australian Cyber Security Centre.
The incident can still be reported to Scamwatch even if no funds were lost.
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