(CENTREVILLE) - St. Joseph County Sheriff Chad Spence is warning residents to be alert for an increase in phone scams targeting elderly citizens.
These scams involve individuals falsely claiming to represent law enforcement, the courts, or correctional facilities.
Spence says scammers often contact victims by phone and claim that there is an outstanding warrant for their arrest, that they have missed jury duty or a court appearance, or that a family member or friend has been arrested and needs money to be released from jail. The caller then pressures the victim to make an immediate payment to avoid arrest or resolve the matter.
These scammers frequently instruct victims to send money through unconventional payment methods such as: Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency; Gift cards; Wire transfers; Payment apps or Cash deposits.
Spence says these calls are fraudulent.
Spence says no member of the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Office, any law enforcement agency, the courts, or correctional staff will ever call citizens to demand immediate payment, request payment, call to warn anyone they are about to be arrested unless they send money, accept payment over the phone to clear a warrant or avoid arrest, or request payment to bail someone out of jail through gift cards, cryptocurrency, or other non-traditional payment methods.
Scammers are often convincing and may "spoof" phone numbers to make it appear that the call is coming from a government agency or local law enforcement. They may know your name or other personal information in an attempt to gain your trust.
Spence says if you receive one of these calls, hang up immediately, do not provide personal or financial information, do not send money or purchase gift cards.
If you are unsure whether a call is legitimate, contact the agency directly using a phone number obtained from its official website--not the number provided by the caller.