Ames residents and ISU students are the target of a phone scam. 

Callers who claim to be from the ISU Police Department, state police, Interpol, the IRS or the Ames Police Department tell victims that they owe a tax and will be arrested if they do not pay. 

The victim is then transferred to another caller who claims to be an attorney and asks for payment from a prepaid credit card or wired money, according to a press release from Ames Police. 

Many of the calls have been directed toward ISU students, and the caller ID number shows up as Ames Police’s non-emergency number, which is 515-239-5133. 

Ames Police urges students and residents to never give out personal or financial information such as a their Social Security, credit card or debit card numbers or bank information when dealing with unsolicited callers. 

Other tips from Ames Police include:

• Do not wire money.
• If the call seems suspicious, involves a high-pressure sales pitch or the person seeks personal information, hang up.
• Callers can “spoof” caller ID, which means they can mask their true number and location.