UW–Madison Police Department

Campus Phone Scam

  • Incident type: Information
  • Location/address: UW-Madison Campus

Over the last few weeks, the UW-Madison Police Department has taken a number calls from individuals regarding a targeted scam. The phone calls have evolved over the last few weeks – but the basic premise is the caller identifying themselves as being from a government agency (the IRS, a local police department, etc.), and they’re demanding immediate payment information over the phone.

Most recently, parents and grandparents of UW-Madison students have been targeted; the caller identifies themselves as being with the UW-Madison Police Department, and states their son/daughter has been arrested and they must pay immediately to release them from jail. The caller’s demands included:

  • Purchase a cash card from a convenience store – provide that number over the phone
  • Take cash from an ATM and wire the money via Western Union, or similar service
  • Provide your credit card/bank information over the phone

The caller identifies themselves as a police officer from the UW-Madison Police Department, and the number on caller ID appears to be coming from a legitimate UW-Madison Police Department number. THIS IS A SCAM. This a version of a larger nationwide phone scam, aimed at obtaining your financial information. The UW-Madison Police Department, or any police department for that matter, will never call someone and demand money to take care of a warrant, citation, or to release someone from police custody.  Federal agencies are involved, as dozens and dozens of schools across the country are experiencing the same scam.

Despite the call coming from a local number, it’s believed the calls are originating overseas, and that the scammers are obtaining names and phone numbers through public directories, published online. If you receive a phone call of this nature, tell the caller you’re calling the police, and hang up. It’s not necessary to actually call the police — but if you feel threatened in any way, or if you mistakenly provided financial information to the caller, please call police to file a report.