The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office is reminding Fremont County citizens to not believe everything they hear over the phone or online.
Sheriff’s have received numerous complaints recently about phone scams and pre-paid money cards. Sheriff’s issued the following statement about the scams in bold, below.
The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office is once again receiving several reports of fraud concerning telephone scams and pre-paid money cards. Many of the fraudulent calls appear to originate from the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office and the criminal conducting the scam identifies themselves as an employee of the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office.
Criminals are targeting local citizens over the telephone and attempting to extort money by informing the victim they have some type of civil or criminal matter that needs dealt with or they will face immediate arrest. The criminal informs the victim that the matter must be cleared up immediately and demands the victim travel to a nearby store and purchase electronic pre-paid money cards in various forms and then provide the card numbers. Once this is done, the scam is over and the victim is out money that cannot be refunded.
The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office warns citizens not to fall for this scam. Law Enforcement does not, and will not, call you demanding immediate payment for any type of civil or criminal issue, especially by using pre paid money cards.
If you receive a call from someone claiming to be a representative of a Law Enforcement Agency who demands immediate payment via pre-paid money cards you are being targeted by a criminal organization, HANG UP!
Fremont County Sheriff Ryan Lee urges citizens to educate their elder family members and friends who may be especially susceptible to this type of scam. “Please have a conversation with those who are vulnerable to this type of devastating money loss, it’s the first line of defense in stopping this scam before it even starts.”
Anyone who receives such a phone call is urged to call or stop by the Sheriff’s Office or your local Police Department and validate any demanding phone calls of this nature.