Richland Police Being Spoofed, and Nobody's Laughing

Richland Police say a number of citizens have reached out to them asking why the department is calling them. It apparently involves a scam.

Authorities said Thursday if this number comes up on your phone, it's not them.

509-942-7340.

That IS the number of the police station, but someone is using spoofing technology to copy the RPD number for scam purposes. According to the Feds, this is illegal, but a number of online companies actually sell apps like this. They try to skirt around the law by offering 'legitimate' reasons for using the app.

Apparently it's a very gray area. So RPD says if you get a call from their number, feel free to call it back, and they will verify they did not call you.