The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about a new scam in town.
According to a news release by the ECSO, at least one complaint has come into the sheriff’s office about somebody who identifies themselves as an ECSO employee, according to a real employee, Rhonda Ray, in the Public Information Office.
“The unknown person then continued to tell the citizen that they had a warrant for their arrest, but the warrant would be dropped if the victim sent money,” said Ray. “That immediately raised a red flag with the victim.”
Some of these warrant scammers are hard to track because of the technology: fake accounts are set up through apps, so that the phone number they use is untraceable. One way to get at them is by not hanging up immediately.
“Try to, in a roundabout way, gather as much information as you can,” said Ray. “Say ‘Well, I need to check into this further; what is your name, can I have a contact number where I can reach you back?’ And then call and report it to the Sheriff’s Office.”
Just the simple request of a callback number, says Ray, could be enough to scare them off. It’s also important to remain vigilant against potential scams, which come in many forms and fashions, especially during the holiday season.
Besides those involving warrants, ECSO’s Rhonda Ray says some other scams include, but are not limited to, telephone and door-to-door solicitations, internet scams, and credit card fraud.
“We can’t remind people enough to guard their credit card information, where they’re shopping online or in a brick-and-mortar building,” Ray said. “Keep that information very closely guarded.”
More information on fraud prevention, and to report an attempted scam, can be found at www.escambiaso.com, or by calling 436-9630.
