MONTGOMERY COUNTY — The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office has issued a warning about several phone call scams that have been circulating throughout the community.
According to the sheriff’s office, phone calls are being made to residents where the caller presents himself as a “Major Jeremy Roy,” claiming to be from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
The caller tells the resident that they have failed to appear in court or that there was a legal matter that they needed to discuss with the resident, the sheriff’s office said. The caller is then asked to provide a substantial payment or else they would have a warrant out for their arrest.
>> Deputies asking for help identifying Washington Twp. theft suspects; do you recognize them?
The caller references false case numbers to appear more legitimate and requests that the payment be made through PayPal, Apple Pay, a money order, or by another method of payment or else they would be arrested.
The sheriff’s office says that in some situations, the resident is asked to go to specific Bitcoin and/or Cryptocurrency ATMs near their home address where they can deposit the funds.
Fraudulent callers have even been known to clone phone numbers to appear legitimate on the incoming caller ID, according to the sheriff’s office. The phone number often times may appear to be coming from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office when it has actually been spoofed.
“These scammers can be very convincing and while in hindsight it may be easy to blame the victims, please keep in mind that these ruthless scammers are very successful at targeting people from all walks of life and age groups,” said Sheriff Rob Streck.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office is reminding residents it never calls and threatens arrest for unpaid fines, warrants, missed court dates, etc.
Anyone who receives calls such as these are encouraged to hang up and report it to their local police department.
©2023 Cox Media Group
