Specturm News recently told the story of an Ohio State student-athlete's parents who were targeted by scammers. Police nationwide have seen an uptick in "spoofing" where scammers spoof a local police phone number on the victim's caller ID, like OSUPD's 614-292-2121, and demand money.
"We would never call or cold call someone asking for cash or a gift card," said OSUPD Lieutenant Bruce Allen. "If someone does fall victim to this scam they should report it."
Police suggest if you think something is a scam, hang up and call the official agency's phone number directly to verify.