Boone County Sheriff’s Office issues warning on phone scam

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A press release from the Boone County Sheriff's Office issued a renewed warning regarding a phone scam involving individuals posing as members of the department.

While the release says the scam has been going on for several years, it states the scam continues to evolve and has been ramping up again in recent weeks.

The release says the scam begins with a cold call from the scammer using a technology that spooks their phone numbers to look like the sheriff's office's number. The scammer -- who is posing as a deputy -- then claims the potential victim missed a court appearance, often noting a fake subpoena or summons, these usually appear to be federal, but can be local using names of real judges.

The scammer will then send fake documents to the victim's phone and claim they'll be fine if they hang up, the release says. The scammer then demands the victim send money for a "bond" through an electronic payment, including cryptocurrency or gift cards, the release says.

The scammer will then give the victim a series of demands to keep them on the phone and have them go to a bank to withdraw money, the release says.

Anyone who thinks they have been a victim of the scam should call the department.

The release claims the scammer will keep the victim on the phone and tell them to go to the sheriff’s office. Once the victim arrives, deputies have to tell the victim they fell or a scam.

The release says law enforcement will not call people to ask for payments and warrants are never processed over the phone.