Muhlenberg Township Police are warning residents of a telephone scam in which people pretending to be treasury agents demand money from their victims.
According to Police, a local woman was the victim of a scam after receiving a phone call by the scammers displaying the Muhlenberg police phone number of 610.929.5454.
The scammer convinced the woman that he was a treasury agent and had a warrant for her arrest unless she immediately paid a fine, using a gift card and reading them the account numbers over the phone.
The scammer also got her to download an app on her phone, which gave them access to information contained within.
Scammers often use the technique of spoofing to make it appear that they are calling from a phone number you may recognize in your caller ID, but it is really a mask for the actual originating phone number.
Police say you can’t completely trust the number being displayed on your caller ID, and have to be on-guard for these scams.
No law enforcement or government agency will instruct you to use gift cards for payments; and the request for this should raise your suspicions and cause you to terminate the call.
If you have received a call similar in the past, Muhlenberg Police Department ask that you contact them at 610.929.5454.