The City of Monterey and Monterey Police Department are warning residents to be aware of scam phone calls reportedly coming from City of Monterey staff to residents asking for social security numbers and other personal identification information. The City became aware of this scam this morning when a resident notified an employee in the Public Works Department that they had received a call that appeared to be from a City phone number, shown on caller ID. This type of phone scam is called phone spoofing. The resident explained he received a call requesting that he provide his social security number to them immediately or his social security number would be cancelled/stopped within the next four hours.
“The City of Monterey and Monterey Police want to assure the public that we would never ask for personal information by phone including a person’s social security number,” said Monterey Police Chief David Hober. “We encourage anyone who receives a similar call to hang up immediately, do not give out any personal information, and report it to Monterey Police.”
About Caller ID Spoofing: Phone spoofing or Caller ID spoofing is when the person disguises the phone number they are calling or texting from by altering their caller ID. It is a common practice among scammers to get you on the phone by utilizing a fake number. Most people will answer because it’s often hard for somebody to resist answering a call from an unknown number. It is also used to be (almost) untraceable.
Tracing a spoofed phone number can be done through your telephone company. Sometimes telephone companies can trace spoof calls back to their origin. This, however, can be a timely process and does not always provide correct results.
If you received a similar call you are asked to notify the Monterey Police Department at 831-646-3830
