The City of Portage has become aware of phone scammers “spoofing” Portage residents by using at least one city phone number to contact them. The scammers claim to be from Walmart and try to fool residents into providing them with financial information, such as a credit card number. The Department of Technology Services is working with the city’s phone provider to determine if actions can be taken to prevent the scam.
Spoofing is a type of scam in which a criminal disguises an email address, display name, phone number, text message, or website URL to convince a target that they are interacting with a known, trusted source. The City of Portage will never ask anyone for their banking information, driver's license number, or social security number unless they initiated the call. To be safe, don't share personal information with individuals claiming to be from the City of Portage or using a City of Portage phone number. If you think the call might be legitimate, call us back at a phone number you know is a genuine City of Portage phone number. Visit portagemi.gov/directory.aspx to view our staff directory.
To report a phone scam in which you have lost money or have unintentionally divulged personal information, please call Kalamazoo County Consolidated Dispatch Authority (KCCDA) at (269) 488-8911.