Though it’s been said before, it bears repeating again: No legitimate law enforcement agency will ever call you to inform you that you’re in legal jeopardy. But the Washington County Sheriff said that residents there have reported that exact tactic by a phone caller.
Sheriff Martin Schulteis said that last Thursday someone received a call from an impersonator warning that “fraudulent documents in Michigan” required immediate attention.
After the initial call was questioned, the scammer said that they’d call back, which they did, with caller ID displaying the legitimate number of the Emergency Communications Center, pressuring the resident to verify the number. The scammer was caught off-guard, though, when asked for the badge number. After a fake ID number was given the recipient recognized a scam and ended the call.
The Sheriff emphasizes that caller ID can be faked to look real, and scammers are using that to bypass suspicion. If you receive such a call, end it right away and call their agency directly. By the way, the real Sheriff Schulteis said he’s not on the phone cold-calling people – he’s busy “Sheriffing”, wearing the badge number 401…just in case you need to verify.
Comments