MILWAUKEE -- Robocalls have gotten so bad, some people are calling 911 worried it is real.
It even prompted the Marinette County Sheriff to write this Facebook Post:
"If you receive one of these calls and want to let us know, please do not call 911, that line is for emergencies only."
The criminals are attempting to clone numbers of our area police departments to pose as fake cops.
Pleasant Prairie Police posted this warning on their Facebook page:
"Village residents have been contacted on the phone and informed their social security number has been compromised and they owe money. The resident is transferred to 262-694-7353, which on caller ID shows the number belonging to the Pleasant Prairie Police Department. THIS IS ACTUALLY OUR PHONE NUMBER, but PPPD will not contact you for anything relating to Social Security. The scammers then have the resident speak to a fictional officer."
Area law enforcement are trying to get the word out that they would never contact you this way.
Robocall tracking company YouMail found more than 158,000,000 spam calls have been placed to people living in the Milwaukee-area just this year. That equals about 74 calls per person.
If you do pick up a robocall, a spokeswoman with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer protection advises you not to say anything for the first three seconds. If you hear nothing, that is a good indicator the scammer is waiting to hear a number they are calling is working, like yours!
Never give out your personal information. Just hang up.
You can file a report with DATCP investigators by clicking here.
