Deschutes County, Ore. – The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office has been receiving reports of a scam that has occurred several times within the last two years in our area.
The scam involves a male portraying himself as a Lieutenant with the Sheriff’s Office and making a claim that a person has a warrant out for their arrest for missing jury duty.
The caller then advises the potential victim to purchase a pre-paid debit card and provide them with the numbers on the card in order to pay the bail on the warrant and avoid going to jail.
Unfortunately, some citizens have followed through with the caller’s instructions and lost significant amounts of money by falling victim to this scam.
The Sheriff’s Office wants the public to know this is a scam, and they should never send someone money without verifying the information they are being provided first.
It is not common practice for the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office to advise a citizen they have a warrant over the phone. In most cases a citizen with a warrant will be contacted in person, and the Deputy will have proper credentials when serving the warrant.
Anyone receiving phone calls similar to this in nature is asked to contact the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office at 541-693-6911 to report it. This scam is currently being investigated.
