DATE: Wednesday, July 02, 2014
SUBJECT: Phone Scam: Fake Sheriff’s Deputy
RELEASE NUMBER: 2014-NR-055
CONTACT: Lt. Noah Robinson
AUTHORITY: Sheriff Dave Wedding
The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a case of telephone fraud after receiving a complaint that a woman was scammed out of more than 400 dollars by an individual claiming to be a Sheriff’s Deputy.
The victim reported receiving a phone call on Wednesday, July 02, 2014 from someone who identified themself as a Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Deputy. The caller informed the victim that she had an active arrest warrant for failing to respond to a court notice. The caller convinced the victim to purchase a pre-paid “Money-Pak” card and then provide the “deputy” with the card number over the phone. The victim did as the impersonator requested and was given a “court date”.
Sheriff Dave Wedding stated, “Our office does not solicit the payment of fines or fees on behalf of the court.” Sheriff Wedding added, “Unfortunately, this is just another example of a phone scam that relies on the trusted name of a business or government entity to bolster the legitimacy of a request that under any other set of circumstances would seem outlandish.”
The Sheriff’s Office is still gathering information on this scam and will pursue all available avenues of investigation. Area residents are advised to treat any unsolicited caller who requests payment or access to personally identifiable information with extreme skepticism, regardless of who the caller claims to represent. When in doubt get the caller’s name, hang up, and then call the business or government entity back at a phone number you know to be correct.
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