Indiana State Police warns Hoosiers of phone scammers impersonating state troopers

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana State Police (ISP) have received concerns from Hoosiers reporting a phone scam that uses the ISP General Headquarters phone number.

According to police documents, the scammer uses a Caller ID showing “Indiana State Police” with “317-232-8248.”

Police documents say the scammer will identify themself as an ISP Trooper. They accuse the victim of having outstanding drug charges in Texas. If the victim does not make a payment, the scammer will threaten them with arrest.

The ISP would like to remind all citizens that they would never call and demand any payment over the phone for any reason.

Scammers will often manipulate you by using scare tactics in order to get your personal information and money.

In order to protect yourself from getting scammed over the phone, ISP suggests ignoring calls and texts from unknown numbers. If you do answer a call from an unknown caller, hang up if things don’t seem right.

Be sure to never give out personal information, such as date of birth, social security number and bank/credit card numbers. Transactions made by prepaid cards or wire transfers are nearly impossible to recover once sent.

If you believe you’ve been a victim of a phone scam, immediately report the incident to your local law enforcement agency and alert your bank as soon as possible.