A phone scam is targeting people in La Plata County and threatening them with arrest if they do not immediately pay a fine.
A caller claims to be with the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office and tells the potential victim a fine is due because the person did not report for jury duty and a warrant will be issued for the person’s arrest if they do not immediately pay a fine, a news release said.
The La Plata County Sheriff’s office does not call people to pay a fine to avoid arrest, the release said.
Phone scammers who claim to be with La Plata Electric Association or the IRS are fairly common, but this may be the first time a scam claimed to represent the Sheriff’s Office, said Dan Bender a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.
It’s an elaborate ruse, according to the release.
A caller uses the name Officer Williams and claims to be with the Warrants and Citations Division, which does not exist. A caller may also claim to be with the U.S. Marshal’s office.
Calls come from a 970 area code and may show up as a Fort Collins number on caller ID.
A recent caller told a victim to take money to the La Plata County Courthouse or the Sheriff’s Office, but later called back to say the victim should go to a Walgreens, City Market or Rite Aid Pharmacy and obtain a Green Dot prepaid debit card and give the caller the authorization code for the card.
If a person falls victim to this scam, a caller may demand additional money later, the news release said.
Residents fell victim to the scam on Saturday.
A sheriff’s deputy investigating the scam happened to speak with two people at Rite Aid Pharmacy who had already purchased money cards, but had not yet given the authorization codes to the thief. He kept them from following through, Bender said.
It is unknown how many people may be involved in the scam.
“A lot of them are large operations involving dozens of people,” Bender said.
It is also difficult to prosecute these phone scam cases because the thieves are typically outside the country, he said.
Phone scams can take many forms, callers may claim to represent law enforcement, courts, public utilities, banks or credit card companies.
Anyone who feels they may have been contacted by a person involved in the sheriff’s office scam or another phone scam, should call the dispatch center at 385-2900.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
