Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Tuolumne Sheriff Dept Press release re: phone scam



On 03-18-14, at about 1030 hrs, the Sheriff’s Office received the report of a possible phone scam. A Deputy responded and spoke with the victim, who said she had received a phone call from a heavily accented male identifying himself as being with the “Attorney Generals Office.” He stated the victim owed $3,000.00 dollars and had to pay it with in the hour or she would be arrested by the Sheriff’s Office. The male knew personal information and required her to pay the debt, by credit/debit card immediately, or a warrant would be issued and she would be arrested. The male gave a call back number of 916-414-8366. The victim was worried and spoke with her boyfriend about getting the money.


     The victim received a second phone call which showed a caller ID number of 209-533-5815 (the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office real number.) The second caller was a heavily accented female who told the victim she had a warrant and would be going to prison. The victim’s boyfriend called the Sheriff’s Office to find out what was going on and discovered it was a scam.

     Both callers were very aggressive and intimidating. Please do not give out any personal information, credit/debit information, or any other account information when solicited.
    
     The Attorney Generals Office was contacted and they are aware of this scam, but had not seen it with a local law enforcement phone number attached.  

    
Thank you,

Sgt. James Oliver
Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office