From the Michigan State Police:
The Michigan State Police (MSP) is warning residents about a recent phone scam involving individuals posing as MSP personnel. Reports indicate that scammers are calling individuals posing as MSP members and falsely claiming the person missed a court date or committed some type of violation. The caller then demands payment be immediately paid, or the person will face arrest.
The callers use this tactic to create a sense of urgency and panic, attempting to pressure individuals to provide payment or personal information. MSP wants to make it clear that this is a scam.
MSP will never call individuals to request sensitive personal information or ask for financial payments to be made directly to MSP personnel. Other signs of an obvious scam are if the caller or message is asking for payment by prepaid gift card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, sending cash in the mail, or a pay app.
When necessary, MSP will make in-person contact with individuals for official matters, including investigations or other law enforcement related matters.
Residents are urged not to share any sensitive information, addresses, family or friends’ information, Social Security numbers, or banking details over the phone with unknown callers.
If you receive a suspicious call, email, or text, hang up immediately if it’s a call and do not engage with the caller. Don’t click links or open attachments, don’t download files or respond to the message, block the caller or sender, report it as spam, and delete it from your device.
