Another Scam Unveiled- The Sherriff's Department

In the past I have gotten recorded calls about a warrant being sworn out on me and to call a number if I had questions. The point was to create panic and call this attorney's number to see if he could help me out of a bad situation. I was able to block these calls and told my family and friends what was happening. Some of them got these calls, too. Now there is a new twist to the sheriff's department scam.

The call came in early one morning. The caller sounded very polite and very official He identified himself as a Deputy from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department. He asked for me  by name, using my legal name and property address and said the call was being recorded for his and my protection. 

He explains that I was sent a subpoena to appear for jury duty in December and since I did not appear the judge had issued two bench warrants for my arrest. He asked if I had trouble getting my mail which in fact sometimes happens. This all sounded very strange and I told him so.

He went on to say that the warrants had to be paid at the sheriff's department with a special voucher to clear the national system but since I had no record, the fees would be immediately refunded by the sheriff's office cashier. Red flag, red flag.

The story sounded like a scam and I told him so but then he said they would be sending a car to pick me up or I could drive myself. Which did I prefer. I told him I would check into it later that day. He reastated it had to be done right then and that I had to go get the special voucher and bring it to the sheriff's office and gave me the address of the sherriff's office in town. Another red flag. 

He explained that the amount due was almost $1500 (unheard of) and the vouchers only held $500 each. Again I told him this sounded like  scam and he assured me that was legitimate and many people felt like I did. He gave me his phone number to call him back. I did and it was answered by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department with an unidentified number. I asked about that and he said it was because their numbers were protected under a Federal law that required them to be blocked. This was another quick answer, he had one for everythng. I knew somehow had commandeered a phone number and this was surely a hoax. I wanted to see how it played out so I could expose them and tell others the details and to not be duped.

I was leaving for the office anyway but had some extra time before an appointment so I decided to go along awhile longer. He told me to stay on the line with him as I drove down to the sheriff's office. At first I thought maybe someone was staking out my house waiting for me to leave but then he then told me I needed to go to my bank and withdraw the cash to pay the fines while keeping him on the line. Red flag again. I went by a bank and told him I had what I needed to pay the fines. He then said to go to the local Kroger store to purchase the special vouchers that the sheriiff's departmant now required. They no longer took debit cards. 

The store was very close by so I went inside to see what these vouchers looked like. He told me to look for a green voucher and go to the cash register and he would give me the code to put in. The green voucher was a prepaid money card. I asked the manager how the cards worked and she said it is what people use to send money to people. This is when the man then hung up on me but I had enough information now to report the details to the real sheriff's department so they would know the details of the latest sheriff's scam.

It took about 5 minutes to get to their office. They told me that morning alone they had had 3 other reports of similar scams. The scammers were using real names of employees and the Judge's name. I was told they are trying to track this ring down but it has been very hard. They may be operating in other areas too.

These scammers have gotten really slick. They sound sincere and if I wasn't so aware of these things going on I might have fallen prey. There were several things that didn't add up but the fellow had an explanation for it all, slick, quick answers.

I know they like to take advantage of older people. I just had a big Medicare birthday so guess I am on their list,now, too. My dad was scammed 2 or 3 times and he knew better. We cautioned him but he still fell for the tricks.

Older people are so vulnerable. Be on alert and never send money to someone you don't know who calls, sends an email or sends a letter. Have a family member verify it or take it to the local authorities. If it is legitmate there are ways to verify it.

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