FBI, Minnesota BCA warn of phone-spoofing scams

Last week, St. Louis County officials warned the community of scam callers pretending to be law enforcement. This week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) are warning the public about a scam affecting Minnesotans across the state.

The two agencies say scammers are exploiting phone number spoofing technology to make calls, while posing as FBI and BCA agents. Officials say scammers are manipulating the caller ID to match the official numbers of these law enforcement agencies, pretending to be conducting an investigation. Scammers have collected sensitive details like Social Security numbers, banking information, and residential addresses.

To determine whether the call is legitimate, Minnesotans are advised to ask for a callback number and then reach out to the agency’s official general information line.

The FBI’s phone number is (763) 569-8000. The BCA’s phone number is (651) 793-7000.

“A legitimate BCA agent will encourage you to call the main phone number and confirm their identity. If the person who called doesn’t want you to do that, hang up the phone. It’s a scammer,” BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said.

If you or someone you know has fallen victim to this scam, help is available. Additional information about recognizing and reporting scams is available on the Internet Crime Compliant Center (IC3) website at ic3.gov.