Beware Of Phone Scam Involving “Student Loan Tax”

The Michigan State Police at the Gladstone Post were contacted by a citizen inquiring about a possible warrant for their daughter’s arrest. The caller’s daughter is a student at Northern Michigan University. She had been called by a person claiming to be from the Michigan State Police. They advised her that there was a “student loan tax” warrant for her arrest and attempted to obtain financial information from her to pay the bond. The caller ID on the phone showed a number that is used by the Michigan State Police Headquarters in Lansing.

It was determined that the telephone number in this case was “spoofed”. “Spoofing” a phone number allows the number on the caller ID appear as any number the scammer chooses, not the one where the call actually originates. The police often see spoofed numbers in the phone scams that occur, however they do not normally come back to a legitimate number. The caller in this case was not defrauded any money. The Michigan State Police will never solicit any money for any reason over the telephone. There is also no such thing as a “student loan tax warrant”.