Home » General » Scam Alert – Suspect Impersonating YCSO Personnel

Scam Alert – Suspect Impersonating YCSO Personnel

Sedona AZ (December 8, 2016) – Yesterday afternoon, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by a scam victim who reported receiving a call from a male suspect identifying himself as “Lt. Dave Williams” from the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office. The caller told her that she had a warrant for failing to appear for jury duty, and was able to confirm her correct social security number, date of birth, and home address. The victim also noted the suspect had called her cell phone. The quality of the information provided by the suspect made the exchange more believable thus heightening concern she was in trouble.

The suspect provided a bogus court case number, his contact phone number with a 928 area code, and instructed the victim to appear in person at the Cottonwood Municipal Court at 6:30 p.m. Of course, at that time the Cottonwood court would have been closed. Suspicious about the call, she told the suspect she would be calling the Sheriff’s Office directly to verify his call, and he hung up. Detectives believe, based on similar past reports, that the suspect would expect a follow-up call from the victim after finding the court closed, and then direct her to pay a fine via green dot/gift card/money order to quash the warrant.

Detectives called the suspect’s number and received a voice mail message which was recorded. Detectives are investigating the source of this number.

These scammers often are able to obtain complete personnel data on individuals from hackers who routinely sell such information via underground websites. If in doubt, verify any claim by contacting the court/sheriff’s office/police department using published phone numbers. Also note that scam suspects also have the ability to spoof phone numbers which will appear on caller ID screens as authentic to the government agency. This can make any initial scam call seem genuine.

REMEMBER, LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES and COURT OFFICIALS WILL NEVER CALL TO SOLICIT PAYMENT ON A WARRANT IN THIS MANNER.

NAMES USED BY SUSPECTS IN THESE CALLS MAY OR MAY NOT REPRESENT A TRUE PERSON- EITHER WAY THESE CALLS ARE ALWAYS FRAUDULENT!

Citizens can contact the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office with information or questions at 928-771-3260 or the YCSO website at www.ycsoaz.gov.

On July 30, 2014, a similar alert was issued by the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office about suspects impersonating Yavapai County Court Officers and Process Servers. Here’s a reminder:

PHONE SCAM ALERT

SUSPECTS IMPERSONATING COURT OFFICERS/PROCESS SERVERS

Telephone scams bilk millions of earnings and savings. Call the police if you believe you are being scammed. Use contact information that you obtain from a source other than the person who calls you! See this article for YCSO numbers.

Over the last few days, suspects impersonating court officers have deluged the Prescott area with phone calls as part of an on-going scam.

One example occurred Monday and involved a victim who received a call from a “process server” (the suspect). The caller requested she confirm her address because two arrest warrants for failing to appear on a federal jury notice had been issued in her name. The suspect even identified a Prescott Superior Court Judge by name as the one who issued the warrants. The suspect demanded she arrange to pay the $1000 bond “right now.” The victim smartly questioned the validity of the call, did not comply, and verified with the local court that the call was a scam.

Another example occurred yesterday, and involved a victim who received a call on her cell phone during her workday in Prescott. The caller told her a warrant had been issued in her name and demanded payment. The victim refused and hung up. The number was recorded as 928-200-xxxx. A number with this 200 prefix has been noted in several of these cases.

Remember, as part of the scam suspects will demand payment by pre-paid debit card or suggest the “bail” money be wired to a specified location. In other versions of the scam, the suspects attempt to obtain personal information to use for identity theft. YCSO has contacted the appropriate cell phone company regarding the number provided yesterday, and it has been disconnected. Many times suspects will use pre-paid cells phones which are difficult to trace.

REMEMBER, LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES and COURT OFFICIALS WILL NEVER CALL TO SOLICIT PAYMENT ON A WARRANT IN THIS MANNER. NAMES USED BY SUSPECTS IN THESE CALLS MAY OR MAY NOT REPRESENT A TRUE PERSON, EITHER WAY THESE CALLS ARE ALWAYS FRAUDULENT!

Call the police or local law enforcement department for help with scammers. They know what to do to help protect you.

Please share this information with family and friends.

The scam is well over a decade old.

Below is from a May 2014 article involving a similar telephone scam where suspects identified themselves as Yavapai County Sheriff’s deputies:

May 30, 2014 – Both the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office and the Prescott Police Department were contacted yesterday by fraud victims regarding a phone scam in which suspects impersonated Yavapai County Sheriff’s deputies.

In the YCSO incident, the victim received a phone call from someone identifying themselves as “Sgt. Michael Barnsworth” with the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office. The “Sgt.” announced that two misdemeanor warrants had been issued for her arrest because she failed to appear on a jury summons. The “Sgt.” indicated a follow-up call would provide further instructions.

A second call was received from a man identifying himself at “Lt. Jeff Johnson” with the Sheriff’s Office. The “Lt.” directed her to go to a local grocery store and purchase two “Green Dot” debit cards for $493 each. She was then told to call a 928-215 prefix to arrange payment and warned that if she contacted law enforcement directly, she would be “arrested on the spot.” She believed the circumstances were suspicious and call YCSO to find out it was in fact a scam.

Similar incidents were reported to the Prescott Police Department and detectives are investigating. It was also reported the callback number provided by the suspects results in a pre-recorded message imitating messages on some Sheriff’s Office business lines.

If you receive such calls, please contact your local police agency using their commonly published business phone number to report the fraud. Please share with family and friends.

Citizens can contact the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office with information or questions at 928-771-3260 or the YCSO website at www.ycsoaz.gov.

Read www.SedonaEye.com for daily news and interactive views!

Leave a Reply

Copyright © 2008-2017 · Sedona Eye · All Rights Reserved · Posts · Comments · Facebook · Twitter ·