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NEW PORT RICHEY (FOX 13) - Officials with the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office say scammers are targeting county residents, and have already made off with over $230,000.
The phone scammers are calling up people and pretending to be with the sheriff’s office and using names and ranks of actual sheriff’s deputies.
In one case, a victim was told that there was a warrant out for their arrest because they failed to appear at a jury trial. They were told that the only way to settle it is to pay a fine.
In other cases, people are scammed into thinking their loved ones need to be bailed out of jail.
According to Sheriff’s officials, the only way to settle a warrant is to turn yourself in. You cannot pay your way out of an arrest warrant.
So far, 12 people have become victims of similar scams.
Once you hand over your credit or debit card information to a stranger over the phone, officials say there’s no way to get that money back. No local or federal office will be able to track it down.
If you ever have any questions or concerns about who is contacting you, you can always double check with your local law enforcement office or call 1-800-706-2488.