DCSO-impersonating scam callers are back at it again
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office warned the public Sunday about a resurgence in scam phone calls falsely claiming to be from a sheriff’s captain and telling their intended victims that they missed jury duty, or similar scams.
A woman contacted NewsChannel 21 to report she received a call Sunday morning that faked (spoofed) a caller ID number of the sheriff’s office (388-6655) from someone claiming to be sheriff’s Capt. Deron McMaster.
She said the caller claimed she had missed jury duty and asked her to meet them at the sheriff’s office on Highway 20. They had enough personal information, likely from public sources, that it had the woman concerned and close to going to the sheriff’s office. Though she said they did not ask for money by phone, she called the sheriff’s office about the call and learned it was a scam.
Last March, the sheriff’s office warned residents about the ongoing warrant scam, with a caller claiming to be “Detective Garcia” from the sheriff’s office and seeking money to clear a warrant issued after missing jury duty or court.
The agency stressed that law enforcement will never call to contact a citizen and ask for money to clear up a warrant or any other legal warrant. Such contacts would be made in person, with proper credentials to identify themselves.
More generally, the sheriff’s office said citizens should always be skeptical of any situation where an unfamiliar person is seeking money by phone.
Those who receive such calls also are urged to contact dispatchers at 541-693-6911 and ask to speak with a deputy.
The sheriff’s office has warned of similar scams in past years as well. And in 2017, a Georgia state prison inmate pleaded guilty to a federal charge in a cross-country scam that called Deschutes County residents, falsely claiming to be sheriff’s deputies and demanding payment for failure to report for jury duty.
Federal prosecutors said Jay Byron Wright and other prisoners called Oregon residents using a cellphone smuggled into the prison and claimed they were in contempt of court for not showing up for jury duty. They were told to pay the money by getting MoneyPak Green Dot cards.
