The Worcester County Sheriff’s Office is warning local residents of phone scams impersonating the Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheriff’s Office had received numerous reports of phone scams in recent weeks, according to a Thursday press release. In some instances, a caller claims to be a Sheriff’s Office employee and tells victims that they have an arrest warrant in their name or the name of a loved one; to avoid going to jail, the victims are told that they need to pay a fine.
In some instances, the scam caller requests that payments be made in the form of gift certificates and will have the victim remain on the line as they purchase and relay specific financial information from the gift certificate to the scam caller. Other popular scams involve claims of missed jury duty that also result in fines.
Evangelidis and the Sheriff’s Office encouraged everyone to be aware of these scam calls and to never give personal or financial information over the phone to anyone whom they did not call themselves.
“Our department does not contact residents and demand payment or ask for credit card information,” Evangelidis said in the press release. “Today’s scam artists are always testing new tactics. Residents need to beware of any unsolicited calls that ask for their personal or financial information.”
“These callers can sound convincing, may be aggressive and try to intimidate you with threats of jail time or steep fines. We encourage anyone who gets a suspicious call to…
