TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Recently, several people have been scammed out of thousands of dollars by telephone scammers pretending to be from the Twin Falls County Sheriff's Office. Callers have used the names of actual TFCSO employees, and through a trick of technology, the call even appears to be from the Sheriff's Office.
- If you receive a call from a law enforcement agency demanding payment, hang up, then look up the phone number for the agency and call them directly.
- You won't be asked to pay using unusual methods, like gift cards, wire transfers, or untraceable means.
- Never share personal information or make payments over the phone unless you are completely sure of the caller’s identity.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
By this point, most of us ignore calls identified as spam risks.
But what if you get a call or voicemail from what appears to be the local law enforcement agency?
Amelia Glenn told Idaho News 6 that’s what happened to a coworker.
"She got a phone call saying that she needed to go to the sheriff's department,” Glenn said. "And she had to pay a fine or else that be a warrant against her arrest. She just kept asking questions and clarifying and trying to get down to the bottom of it."
"It is definitely someone posing from the Sheriff's office and saying that we're going to issue a warrant," Lori Stewart from the Twin Falls County Sheriff's Office said.
Stewart told Idaho News 6 that several people recently reported losing thousands of dollars to this type of scam.
And once the money leaves your bank account, it's gone.
"There's an urgency there's a scare right it brings in emotions,” Stewart said. “None of us want to be in trouble right?"
"All we can really do at this point - because we can't track them down- is just remind people to be cautious and not give anybody money especially if they're asking for payment in kind of, you know, an odd way," Stewart said.
If you receive a call from a law enforcement agency demanding payment, hang up, then look up the phone number for the agency and call them directly
You won't be asked to pay using unusual methods, like gift cards or wire transfers or untraceable means.
Never share personal information or make payments over the phone unless you are completely sure of the caller’s identity.
For Amelia's friend, the scammer finally hung up after she continued to ask questions.
"In the end you just have to be smart and ask questions and really just get to the bottom of it before you divulge any sort of information."
