State Issues Warning After Scammers Hijack Elder Affairs Fax Number

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Florida - The Department of Elder Affairs wants to warn FL residents that there's a scam artist making calls pretending to be from the Department or an organization they refer to as Senior Services, and they've managed to hijack the Caller ID of the FL Department of Elder Affairs' fax line.

The scammer is using a method called "spoofing" to make it look like on Caller ID that the call is coming from the FL Department of Elder Affairs' fax line, 850-414-2004.

People from across the state, including people who aren't elders, have called the Department of Elder Affairs to complain about the harassing calls demanding payment and personal information. According to Ashley Chambers, Communications Director for the FL Department of Elder Affairs, this was especially concerning because "not only is somebody hijacking our phone number, if you will, by using this spoofing method, but they're also demanding payment." According to Chambers, the Department of Elder Affairs never calls clients to demand money for services rendered.

"If you get a suspicious call from this number, or any number, hang up," said Chambers. "Never provide personal information over the phone to a stranger, or to anyone that you're not comfortable with." She also added "we're mandatory reporters of abuse in the state of Florida. If you know of abuse, if you see abuse, or if you suspect it, we ask that you contact the statewide abuse hotline which is 1-800-96-ABUSE."

If anyone gets a call from 850-414-2004, don't provide any personal information - just hang up. If you got one of these calls and provided payment or information to the callers, contact your local law enforcement office to file a report.

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