Hampshire County resident paid thousands to con artist pretending to be from Sheriff’s Office

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – The Hampshire Sheriff’s Office (HSO) is warning residents of a phone call claiming to be their office and demanding money after an individual was conned out of thousands of dollars.

Several Hampshire County residents have received calls from a person or group of people claiming to be by the Sheriff’s Office since mid-May. Hampshire County Sheriff Patrick Cahillane said a resident reported on Friday that they paid thousands of dollars to someone claiming to be an HSO representative.

The Sheriff’s Office says they will never call residents like this and if you receive a similar phone call, hang up and do not call them back. “Under no circumstances would any employee from the Hampshire Sheriff’s Office call a private individual and ask for money or ask for personal information or anything of that sort,” said Public Information Officer for Hampshire Sheriff’s Office, Thomas Mitchell.

If you receive a fraudulent call, you should report it to your local police department or the Sheriff’s Office at 413-584-5911.

The resident reported it to their local police department and was able to recover the money.

“The duty of the Hampshire Sheriff’s Office is to protect public safety. We want everyone to stay safe, and to remember, please, please remember , that my office will never make, or be a party to, these kinds of phone calls,” said Sheriff Patrick Cahillane.

The Better Business Bureau says if you ever receive a scheme phone call, don’t provide any information to them and hang up the phone. Some schemes involve displaying any number through caller ID in an attempt to trick you.

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