Idaho Police Warn of Recurring Phone Scams
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KLIX)-Idaho State Police is warning Idahoans of a resurgence of two phone scams claiming to be law enforcement.
Recently ISP, with cooperation with other law enforcement agencies and the Idaho Attorney General's Office, said people need to be aware of the scams from someone purporting to be with a sheriff's office or the Idaho State Police, typically wanting payment in the form of of a gift card.
One scam making its rounds again is targeting registered sex offenders telling those who pick up the call that they are out of compliance and can pay a bond to clear it up. ISP said the scammers usually tell the intended victim they can use a gift card to pay the bond and stay out of jail. ISP said anyone threatening a person with jail time or other punishment and providing a way to pay to avoid it is a scam.
The second scam to be making a comeback involves a fake caller ID saying "ID State Police." in one instance the caller told a woman that her vehicle warranty or registration was out of compliance and needed to send a gift card to avoid getting in trouble. ISP said the intended victim realized it was a scam and hung up. Typically, if ISP does call someone the number will actually show up as "no caller ID" on the incoming phone, like most law enforcement.