Telephonic Scam (Photo) - 06/02/22

REPORTING DEPUTY: Undersheriff Snyder

DETAILS: The Josephine County Sheriff’s Office has received a report of a new telephonic scam. A citizen reported that they received a phone call from a subject claiming to be a DEA agent from another state. The fake DEA agent told our citizen that drugs had been mailed to their house and an infusion of money had been placed into their bank account.  The scammer then asked the citizen for their banking information which the citizen refused to provide.  The scammer told the citizen that the Sheriff’s Office would be contacting them. 

The citizen then received a phone call from a scammer who claimed to be a Sheriff’s Deputy.  The phone number on caller ID was the Sheriff’s Office number however, the citizen still refused to provide personal bank information and reported the phone calls to the Sheriff’s Office. 

Scammers use a technique known as caller ID spoofing.  Caller ID spoofing is the practice of falsifying the information about an incoming call on the receiver’s caller ID display. Scammers will manipulate the caller ID so that the call appears to be coming from a local or well-known phone number, making it more likely to be trusted or answered. 

The Sheriff’s Office would like to remind you that law enforcement does not operate in this fashion.  We would also like to remind citizens to remain vigilant and report any potential scams that come their way.  Persons should never provide financial or personal information to anyone until they are certain who they are speaking to.  It appears many of these types of thieves try to target members of our senior citizen community.  Please be aware of these scams and call the Sheriff’s Office if you have questions or concerns.