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PCSO warns of deceptive phone scam
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office says scammers are calling victims claiming they have a warrant or a citation that needs to be paid. FOX 13’s Kailey Tracy reports on who at the sheriff’s office, the scammers are posing as and what you need to watch out for.
LARGO, Fla. - Law enforcement officials are issuing a fresh warning about the latest scam.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said scammers are calling victims, saying they have a warrant or citation that needs to be paid.
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What they're saying:
Deputy Geoff Moore, who is a deputy sheriff of media relations for PCSO, said scammers are currently using the name of Assistant Chief Deputy Paul Carey to convince victims they have outstanding warrants or citations.
"They'll contact you and say that you have a warrant for your arrest or something to the effect of you owing the sheriff's office money," Moore said. "What the scammers will do is they will provide them with a Zelle, Cash App, any way that they can get money transferred to them. And they request a specific amount of money, and typically, what will happen is, if you can get one, then you can get two. So, they'll just keep coming back and saying that there's processing fees and all sorts of different court fees associated with the fines or the warrant in order to get more money from the victims."
Dig deeper:
Deputy Moore said the scam isn’t new, while the name may be.
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"They'll pick anyone's name, really. They've picked the captains in the past. I've handled some with my own name being used, because we’ll put a media alert out and my name's on the internet. So, they'll take kind of anybody that they can find because, if you're receiving that phone call, and maybe the first step is saying, ‘all right, well, I'm going to Google this person.’ So, they Google Deputy Geoff Moore, and then I pop up, and then that makes the victim think, ‘oh, this is the deputy that I'm speaking to,’" he said.
Scammers also use fake deputy names, he said, and as we unfortunately know, they’ll pose as just about anyone to get our money.
"Scams are just, it's kind of cyclical, so if it's not going to be someone posing as somebody from the sheriff's office, then it's going to somebody from your bank, saying that your bank's been compromised. So, it's just important to, unfortunately, you need to be a little bit weary in not trusting of maybe who's on the other end of the phone," Moore said.
What you can do:
Moore said they’ll never call, text or email a citizen to demand money.
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"I know it's very difficult when you're in, when the blinders go up, so to speak, and you're not really thinking about anything, but you owe money, or you're going to be arrested, or your cable's going to get cut off, your electric, whatever it may be. Just hit the pause, try to take a timeout, and phone the company or the sheriff’s office themselves to try to verify that this is true or not true," Moore said.
What's next:
The Economic Crimes Unit is currently investigating the scam after a victim reported a suspicious call. While that resident avoided losing any money, Moore warned that these calls can originate from anywhere in the world, making them difficult for local authorities to track.
The victim in this case reported that the scammer left a voicemail requesting the citizen return the call. The number the scammer left, though, isn’t one associated with the sheriff’s office. If anyone has information on this scam or has become a victim, they are asked to call the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office at 727-582-6200.
The Source: Information in this story is from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.