MONROE COUNTY, Fla. – The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office notified the public Thursday of a nationwide scam in which they say callers pose as law enforcement officers, telling victims they need to pay money to resolve a fake arrest warrant.
According to MCSO spokesperson Adam Linhardt, the agency has recently received an increased number of phone calls from victims regarding these scams and deem it of the utmost importance to promote awareness and prevent more people from falling prey to such scams.
Recommended Videos
The scammers may provide convincing information, including about the victim, such as addresses, date of birth, real names of federal judges or court employees, actual court addresses, court phone numbers and case and badge numbers.
“Residents should be wary of any mail, email, text or phone call they receive from anyone claiming to be a law enforcement official, especially those seeking money/gift card information, which is a sure sign of being scammed,” said Linhardt.
Linhardt also said the public should keep an eye out for any online banking scams involving monetary platforms such as CashApp, PayPal, Venmo or Zelle.
“If someone contacts you asking for money, purporting to be from a law enforcement agency, any government organization, a bank, a credit card company, and so forth — contact the organization yourself,” Linhardt said.
MCSO deputies released some examples of fraudulent documents Thursday, which you can read below.