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FBI warning about spoofers who used their phone number to scam St. Louis County victim out of $100,000

The FBI said the victim was scammed out of their life savings by scammers posing as FBI special agents
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Scam alert

ST. LOUIS — The FBI is warning people of a new phone spoofing scam that was recently used to trick a person in St. Louis County out of more than $100,000.

According to a press release from the St. Louis and Kansas City divisions of the FBI, the scammers use spoofing technology to make it look like a call is coming from FBI's real phone number. 

The scammers posed as FBI special agents and told the St. Louis County victim that their identity was stolen and used to open bank accounts and purchase stocks. The scammers asked the victim to wire their life savings to the FBI for "safekeeping". 

“These are old scams that keep evolving with a new twist," Special Agent in Charge Timothy Langan said in the release. "Because there are endless versions of these scams, please remember this – the FBI will never ask/demand money for any reason. When someone asks for your money (especially through a wire transfer) or your personal or financial information, be suspicious and verify the legitimacy of the request.”

The FBI said if you think someone is trying to use spoofing to scam you out of money, look up the phone number of the organization the scammers claim to be representing and call them yourself to verify. The FBI says a legitimate caller would encourage you to take the time to verify while scammers will normally threaten you to create a false sense of urgency.

If you or someone you have been the victim of an online scam, immediately contact the bank you used and try to recall the transfer. Then, file an online complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center here.

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