LOGAN — Utah State Police are warning students and local citizens of a phone scam occurring recently. The suspects are utilizing the USU Police Dispatch number (435)797-1939 and impersonating law enforcement officials.
According to an alert that was sent out to the campus community, USU Police officers were notified by multiple callers Friday, reporting they had received phone calls by a group identifying themselves as Utah State University Police Department members. The calls appeared to be coming from the police department’s dispatch number.
The callers reported the suspects threatened to send officers to arrest those they spoke to for outstanding warrants unless demands for payment were made. The scam callers reportedly had foreign accents, speaking in broken English, and were very aggressive in their demands.
The police department reminded students and the community that law enforcement agencies will never threaten arrest or ask for this type of financial information. They also recommended never sharing personal information like birth dates or financial account records to anyone over the phone.
These types of phone scams are not new. Local law enforcement have investigated hundreds of similar complaints, where callers reported receiving fraudulent calls from various agencies and businesses. Most of the time, even though the call appears to be from a local number, they originate from overseas, making it very difficult to track.
Police advised that if you want to verify an officer or organization is trying to reach you, you can do so by calling them directly.