Over the last couple of weeks, the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office has taken numerous calls from victims who report being contacted by a local law enforcement agency via phone. Throughout the conversation, the scammer claims to be an officer with a law enforcement agency. The scammer claims the victim needs to pay them bond money or the victim will be arrested. The scammer in these situations has been able to “spoof” a phone number that matches a phone number from the local law enforcement agency they claim they’re from. The scammer will often request the victim to stay on the phone with them and tell them to go to a Bitcoin machine. Once there, the scammer will direct the victim to what wallet number to send the money to. The sheriff's office has been informed that the scammer sounds professional and also had specific personal information about their victim, which has included their prior home addresses.

Everyone needs to be reminded that a law enforcement or a government agency will never call you and demand that you send them cryptocurrency or gift cards numbers. It is our job to try and educate as many people as we can on this matter.

Please help in spreading this information to your loved ones as well so they don’t risk becoming victims of these scams. By being proactive and educating your grandparents, parents, children, and friends about these common scams you may have prevented them from falling victim and losing a life-altering amount of money.