The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office has been receiving reports of scammers trying to intimidate, trick, and threaten people into giving up their hard-earned money or personal information, leaving them vulnerable to identity theft.
Law enforcement, courts, or any other government agencies will never call you and demand prepaid credit cards for payment while threatening arrest if you don’t. However, scammers will.
The Scams
Recently, these criminals have fraudulently claimed to be “Detective Chris Thompson” and “Deputy Wayne Farley”. The scammers left a voicemail asking the potential victim to call them back and provided a phone number with a (509) area code.
In other incidents, callers attempted to add legitimacy to their deception by either “spoofing” (falsified phone number transmitted to your caller ID) the Sheriff’s Office phone, or providing the number during the call.
The scammers threaten and intimidate, hoping to convince their victims to purchase prepaid credit cards to pay a “fine” and avoid a warrant being issued for their arrest. They may also demand personal identification numbers or banking information, which opens a victim to potential identity theft or having their bank accounts drained.
If You’re Targeted
If you or someone you know receives a call from scammers, report the information:
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Dpgazette.com/ftccomplaint
- Crime Check at 509-456-2233
For more information, tips, and different scamming alerts:
