Posted on 08/17/2015 8:40:15 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Vista resident learned first-hand how believable these fake calls can be
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department says it wants residents to be aware of people posing as sheriff's employees, calling by phone and demanding money for allegedly missing a jury duty assignment or failing to pay taxes.
The sheriff’s department sent out a bulletin with the warning this month.
Vista resident Warren Fox recently received one of the phone calls at his home. According to Fox, the man on the other end identified himself as a sheriff's sergeant and told Fox he had missed jury duty.
“He basically said, ‘You failed your jury duty summons. You are in violation of the court and possibly could be arrested or fined,’” Fox said.
The man told Fox he needed to pay $930 immediately on a prepaid card.
“The court does not conduct business with prepaid debit cards,” said Michael Roddy with the San Diego Superior Court System. “We never call a party to inform them of an issue. We will send them a written letter. If you receive a suspicious call or email, the first thing you should do is hang up and report it. Always call the court to verify. Don't just take the person's word for it, even if they represent themselves to be a law enforcement agency.”
Fox said he looked into purchasing the prepaid card but luckily didn't go through with it after he went to the Vista courthouse in-person to ask about it.
He said he hopes telling his story will serve as a warning to other potential victims.
“I will be the first to say he suckered me,” Fox said. “Bottom line is that you could lose $900 without realizing that you've been had.”
Impersonating a sheriff's deputy is a violation of state law. Law enforcement officials told NBC 7 Investigates these criminals are difficult to catch, which is why it's important to report it.
I has some numbskull with a british accent call me and demand I pay my tax bill.....or Id Be Sorry!!
I told em to take a flippin hike
My sister in law got a call about an overdue credit card. He told her it would be completely cleared up if she sent him $2k, wire transfer “today” (a Sunday). She called us to borrow it, swore she would repay it in a week. When I poked and prodded about what she needed it for, she finally told me the story.
I insisted she call the phone number on the back of her card. She did and found out it was a scam. She was convinced because he knew so much of her info.
There seems to be an awful lot of lowlifes in this state who are intent upon “making a living” by stealing from anyone who will fall for their rackets.
I have a nice and nasty pre-recorded message I play when these “card services” scammer call. They are usually black or Indian and don’t like the message one bit.
And anyone who pays is an idiot... plain & simple.
Always tell such folks to mail me an official notice - and let them know I have their phone number and will be reporting it (even if number is blocked - they can never be sure...).
I am a seasonal tax preparer with a major firm. This past season we had a SPATE of people being told that they owed $$$$ and the police would be at their house in 2 days if they did not pay (Caller ID: IRS Collections)! Our guess was that the scammer outfit would dial from area code to area code to get the gullible. I actually printed out the IRS guarantee that they NEVER use Telephone or Email for initial contacts about tax problems.
One of our past clients came so hot, we were afraid we would have to call the police. When he finally took the time to read the notice and then we showed it on the IRS web site, he almost collapsed in relief. The fact that the IRS is almost un-callable just added to the problem.
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