Scam caller threatens ‘arrest’ if not paid
Crook County sheriff’s deputies warned Wednesday of a frightening call several residents got earlier in the week from a scammer claiming to be with law enforcement – and threatening arrest if they didn’t quickly pay hundreds of dollars in bail.
The department received several reports Monday of a male caller who claimed to have a warrant for their arrest, said Sgt. Dave Dethman.
The caller said they needed to either give him their bank account information or to go a store and buy money cards to pay for the bail. One call was for $500, while the others were for $900, Dethman said.
The caller gave them an hour, and said if the money wasn’t sent by then, they would be arrested.
“These calls are not from the law enforcement community and are scams,” Dethman said.
The variety of scams is endless, but other parts of the country also have reported this one lately.
Similar scam calls were reported in San Mateo, Calif., in recent days, claiming a bench warrant had been issued for their arrest and telling them to send money through a wire transfer or they would be arrested.
In Kansas City, police warned of calls that showed up as 911 on Caller ID and claimed to be a “deputy” asking the potential victim to pay off an outstanding arrest warrant. (Kansas City doesn’t have deputies.)
