October 7, 2020
By: Dwayne Page
If you get a phone call supposedly coming from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office — think twice before giving out your financial information.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said someone is targeting would be victims with spoofed phone calls which means even though the caller ID may show otherwise, the calls are not coming from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department.
It’s a scam intended to coerce or threaten would be victims into sending money .
“I have received calls about someone spoofing the jail’s phone number making it appear the call is coming from here but it is not. One person said the caller warned that there was a warrant against him in another state and that if he didn’t send money someone from the sheriff’s department would have him picked up. He wound up sending money. That is a scam and if you fall for it the scammers will keep on taking your money until you stop sending it. They will call again and say they found another warrant, that there are taxes on the warrant, or something,” warned Sheriff Ray.
“We have also had a complaint of someone spoofing the jail’s number and using it as some type of security from Apple. I just want to let the public know that we are not making these calls. If you receive a call at your home that shows it is from the sheriff’s department, hang up and call me and I will check it out for you. Most of the time these scammers will ask you to put money on an Apple, Visa or GreenDot card and if you do that and give them the card number it gives them access to the cash. Remember, if a caller says you have an arrest warrant against you or that you need a security code for some reason and must send money give us a call. Keep in mind the sheriff’s department will never solicit money for any reason by phone,” said Sheriff Ray.