Scammers posing as sheriff’s deputies
New phone scam looks to cause harm to those on the other end
BOYD COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ) - A phone scammer is making their way though numbers in Boyd County, pretending to be a deputy with the Sheriff’s Department.
Maj. James Johnson, a Chief Deputy with the department, describes the basic setup.
“Sheriff’s Department has received several calls up here at the office concerning a gentleman who’s been using the name ‘Hawthorne,’ he’s been using different ranks, he’ll be saying he’s a lieutenant, a major, a sergeant, and he’s been calling different people, I guess, and telling them they’ve got a warrant, an outstanding warrant for ... missing jury duty or missing a court summons,” Johnson said.
He also said deputies would never call anyone about missing a court appearance.
“If they start asking your information you know about court and stuff, you know it’s not legit ‘cause they’re not going to call you if you missed a court date for something like that,” Johnson said.
Their investigation revealed these calls are coming from burner phones, making them harder to track.
Investigators called one number that’s been reported from the scam to try and get a better idea of how it works.
“She said ‘so am I in trouble for not showing up for court or something?’ and he immediately said ‘you didn’t show up for jury duty or court summons’ I believe it was, something like that and they didn’t get to a dollar figure yet until he figured it out that he was talking to someone that knew a little bit more than he did,” Major Johnson said.
WSAZ also called the same number as the department and it appearances to now be disconnected. However, it’s not the only number the scammer has been calling from.
Johnson said there are other unknown unconfirmed numbers, and he urges people to be careful. The person is trying to scam people out of money and if you suspect someone on the other end is trying to make you a victim, the department encourages you to call their office at 606-739-5135 or after hours through the 911 Center at 606-329-9911.
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