MSHP to no longer publish names in crash, drowning reports after scammers use public info
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Missouri State Highway Patrol will no longer publish the names of those involved in its preliminary online traffic crash and boat/drowning reports, a Friday press release says.
The release says MSHP was “recently notified of scam incidents across the state” that targets crash victims or people who know someone involved in a crash.
The release says the gender, age, type of injury and the city and state will still be posted.
“The public safety benefit of the dissemination of information that identifies a traffic/boating crash victim, or drowning victim no longer outweighs the risks when the names are disseminated,” the release says.
MSHP first sent out a release in September warning the public of potential scammers using information obtained via public databases, including the Patrol’s online reports, to trick victims into sending money.
"People were calling crash victims, identifying themselves as a member of our agency and then using a scam to try to solicit money from them based upon fictitious charges as a result of the crash,” Capt. Scott White told ABC 17 News. "When we were notified of these, we started getting them from all over the state. The suspects may have used the information obtained by either other public databases, including our online reports and we believe that they use that information to sound credible.”
Other states have already had issues with similar scams including Florida, Oklahoma and Wyoming. Knesha Duncan, of the Better Business Bureau, said that is not the first scam involving law enforcement that the organization has come across adding that posing as law a enforcement officer is often an effective tool for scammers. A number of those scams have occurred in Missouri.
“It's not uncommon for scammers to look for long lists that they can go through and try to connect those names to an organization or a business or someone else who they think they can more easily scam with," Duncan said. “I see people will oftentimes use the state highway patrol because that's a trusted entity."
MSHP says it will never contact somebody to demand any sort of payment, since Patrol employees do not process bonds or accept money to prevent charges.
