Scammers pose as law enforcement, ask for payment of fine

Scammers posing as law enforcement officers and businesses are at work trying to solicit “fines” and personal details from unsuspecting residents of the Miss Lou in recent days.

Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten said, “The scammers are hard at it today. I hope no one falls for this,” in response to two reports he’d received before 10:30 a.m. Saturday. In one incident, scam callers claimed to represent Adams County Sheriff’s Office and asked a woman to report to a kiosk and pay a fine.

The scammers claimed to be “Deputy Jason Maxwell” and “Watch Commander Smith” but had a phone number from Bailey Mississippi, the sheriff said. The caller said to the woman she “missed court” and owed a $10,000 fine and that had to pay $7,500 of that fine Saturday at a kiosk they would direct her to.

The woman instead contacted an ACSO deputy that she knew.

A second scam call was reported where a person claiming to represent Walgreens asked for an individual’s Medicare number. Instead of giving the number, the individual hung up and contacted Walgreens directly.

The Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office also warned the public of scams recently where a caller from an unknown number or blocked number claims to be a “process server” and that there is a lien on the individual’s home or that someone is suing them for unpaid medical bills or some other matter.

The caller may also claim the individual is a “person of interest in an important matter that requires immediate attention,” and that federal law prohibits the caller from sharing additional information, CPSO states. Similarly in other cases, the scammer may be secretive, saying they can’t reveal details until the individual’s papers are served.

Next the scammers ask the individual to “confirm” personal information about themselves such as their date of birth, address or social security number.

“The people behind this scam don’t have any legal papers to deliver; they want to get their hands on your personal information to commit identity theft,” CPSO warned.

The best practice to avoid becoming a victim of a scam is to hang up the phone, don’t provide any personal details to a random caller or use affirmative words like “yes” or “sure” as these may be recorded to commit fraud. When an unknown number calls out of the blue, it’s best not to answer or to hang up and call a trusted number to verify the information instead.

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