June 24, 2024 10:10 a.m.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said a scam is back, and residents should just hang up.
Lieutenant Brad O’Dell said scammers are posing as officials from DCSO in an effort to scam community members out of money. O’Dell said deputies have once again begun receiving reports from people contacted by phone by individuals posing as DCSO employees such as Lieutenant Jerry Tilley and others.
O’Dell said the scammer will tell the intended victim they have missing some court appearance, failed to appear for jury duty, owe fines or have a warrant for their arrest and eventually demand payment. The victim is often directed to immediately make payment or they will have consequences including arrest. These are tactics that are never utilized by legitimate law enforcement agencies.
O’Dell said its critically important for the community to be aware of these tactics and to share them with their friends and family members, especially those who may be vulnerable to falling victim to the scams, such as elderly members of the community. O’Dell said the community should not focus too much on specific scam tactics as scammers often change their methods over time:
*Scammers can easily obtain new phone numbers and will change them often
*Scammers may use “spoof” programs to make the Caller ID show an agency’s actual phone number
*Scammers may use the names of actual DCSO employees to make the call seem legitimate
*Scammers may obtain personal information about a victim online including their name, address, phone number and the names of others in the home
*Scammers may initially contact victims by mail, email, or through social media.
The release said due to the technology used in the scam – and the fact that scammers can be located anywhere in the world – it is virtually impossible to track the scammers or to get money back.
O’Dell said anyone who has a question about a possible scam call, should contact dispatch at 440-4471 and ask to speak to a deputy. He said the most important thing is to not send any money or agree to meet someone to make a payment.