On Friday, the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff issued a warning to residents after a suspect impersonates sheriff’s office employees.
The sheriffs office says says they were contacted by several county residents who received a phone call from a person who identified himself as an employee of the Sheriff’s Office. The caller tells the residents that there are warrants for their arrest because they missed jury duty. The caller directed the residents to pay $4,000 clear the warrants.
This scam is not new. There are different variations of this. Recent scams involved the IRS or unpaid parking tickets. This pops up every now and then and usually targets the elderly. Fortunately, the residents did not make any payment.
The suspect attempts to make this appear legitimate by giving phony names or real names of employees, addresses of some of our offices, and fake case or warrant numbers. Don’t fall for it.
Usually the suspect goes on to say the warrant could be cleared by getting a prepaid debit card or gift card at various local drug stores.
Again, this is a scam. The Office of the Sheriff does not have people pay fines or fees by through reloadable prepaid cards. Furthermore, the public is never contacted in this way.
Anyone receiving such a call should refuse to provide any personal information to the caller or simply hang up. Please contact your local law enforcement agency and notify them of the incident.
5 comments
I feel bad for the elderly who fall for this. Anyone else – come on. Wise up.
I had one of those calls. He asked what my name was. I told him he should already have it. I told the idiot to come and get me. I will be standing in front of my house waiting. I will be wearing a red sweatsuit, green sneakers and have a hibiscus flower by my left ear. I told him he can’t miss me if he tried. No one showed up.
Good for you Dawn!
I just got called last week. They said it was the IRS, and that the police would be at my door in 1 hour, would handcuff me, and take me to jail. He gave his name and employee ID number. Then he said let me transfer you to my supervisor. Another person came on the line, gave me his name and ID number. When I said I could not pay, he said I will call you back, and never did.
The biggest scammers in Contra Costa are the Sheriff’s Department themselves, who hand out tickets for going one mile over the speed limit, or not pausing long enough at a stop sign.
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