The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office wants to make the public aware of an ongoing scam.
We have received multiple reports of people making random phone calls and identifying themselves as employees of the Sheriff’s Office.
Two such reports were taken on Thursday, April 2nd and the first occurred on March 14th. The approaches in all of these scam attempts appear to be very similar.
This is a synopsis of the March 14th case. The scammer identified himself as a high ranking member of the Sheriff’s Office and told the person they had an active warrant and a citation for a failure to appear in court. The man told his target that they must pay two separate fines of $250 right away. He ordered the person to come to his office to pay the fines. He said his office was located downtown, but the address given does not correspond with the downtown area. The targeted victim became very suspicious and told the suspect their phone conversation was being recorded. The suspect then immediately said the matter was resolved and he hung up.
Fortunately the scam artist in this case was not able to take advantage of their target, but they will likely try this con again on someone else. The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office wants to make it clear to the public that it never makes solicitations for money or asks for the payment of fines over the phone.
Investigations into these matters are ongoing. It has not been determined if the same group is behind all of the fraudulent calls. If you receive similar calls, do not give in to the caller’s demands. Please report all details to (559) 600-3111 only if the person claims to be with the Fresno County Sheriff's Office, not another law enforcement agency. We ask that you make a report to the corresponding law enforcement agency that the suspect is trying to align themselves.
