Albany County Sheriff Issues Especially Important Scam Alert

The Albany County Sheriff's Office says scammers are now faking the Sheriff's Office phone number to impersonate deputies as part of a phone scam.

That's according to a post on the agency's Facebook page.

Details Of The Scam

According to the post, te scammers ae using the department's actual phone number, 307-755-3520, to make the calls believable. Such a practice is known as "spoofing' and can fool people into thinking the call is legitimate. According to the post, the caller alerts ''the recipient that they have a warrant out for their arrest, missed jury duty, or never paid a citation. They may terminate the call abruptly, falsely accusing the recipient of hanging up and threatening immediate arrest if the individual reports to our office.''

According to the post, victims are told they need to use a Coinstar or money machine to pay off supposed fines.

According to the post, the scammer often:

* refers to the community member by name,

* tells the community member the call is being recorded, and

* tells the community member they missed a court appearance or jury duty.

The caller tells the victim they will be arrested if they don't send the money for the alleged fine, or else they can turn themselves into the jail.

The sherriff's office reminds people that they will never call them up and demand payment for fines.

Tips To Protect Yourself

The post offers the following advice to protect yourself from this and other phone scams:

* Never give personal or financial information to an unsolicited caller or email.

* Be suspicious of callers who demand immediate payment for any reason.

* Stay private. Regularly update privacy settings for social media sites. Scammers often make their stories more believable by trolling for personal information on Facebook, Twitter, and similar sites.

* Remember that anyone who has the number on a prepaid card has access to the funds on your card

* Never wire money, provide debit or credit card numbers to a stranger.

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Source: Albany County Sheriff Issues Especially Important Scam Alert

Filed Under: scams, Albany County Sheriff's Office

Categories: News, Local News