JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. – Local police are reminding the public about an ongoing phone scam.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said scammers posing as JSCO employees are calling local residents in attempts to trick them out of their money.
According to the sheriff’s office, the scammers were reported to be men with southern accents using the names of actual JSCO employees. They were aggressively telling their targets a warrant was out for their arrest. The scammers offer to clear the warrant in exchange for payment over the phone.
JSCO said the callers are “spoofing” their numbers so they appear on caller IDs as the number of the sheriff’s office.
In one recent instance, a man lost $3,000 when he was instructed to purchase prepaid cards at a grocery store and gave the numbers to a scammer.
“As a reminder, JSCO employees will never call people to demand payment for any reason,” the sheriff’s office wrote. “If a person has a warrant for their arrest, a deputy will not call the person to tell them. A warrant cannot be cleared over the phone. To clear a valid warrant, a person must go to court or turn him/herself in at jail.”
The sheriff’s office said it’s easy for scammers to get detailed personal information on the internet before they call. It’s also easy for them to get information about local law enforcement agencies.
For more information about scams, visit: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/scam-alerts
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