The caller says a large sum of money is required to avoid jail time.
The Beavercreek Police Department last week received a report of a similar fraud involving a caller who claims to be a captain with the department who says the resident needs to pay money to take care of an arrest warrant.
“These scammers can be very convincing and while in hindsight it may be easy to blame the victims, please keep in mind that these ruthless scammers are very successful at targeting people from all walks of life and age groups,” said Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck.
His department recently warned residents about a few different phone scams circulating that use similar tactics.
Callers claim to be Sgt. Doug Reed or an employee of various offices at the county court division who tell residents they failed to appear in court or have another legal matter, and that unless they make a substantial payment they will have a warrant for their arrest.
The fraudulent callers make references to case numbers, and clone the phone number, or “spoof” it to appear legitimate on the caller ID, the sheriff said.
Law enforcement and court personnel never call residents to threaten arrest for unpaid fines, warrants, missed court hearings or missed jury duty. They also never ask for money, gift cards, or other forms of payment such as through Paypal, Apple Pay, money orders or cashier’s checks.
Residents who receive these calls should hang up and report it to your local police department.
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