The Essex County Sheriff’s Department is warning citizens about a phishing scam.
In the phone scam, the caller impersonates a sheriff’s deputy and informs the potential victim that the call is regarding a legal civil matter that requires their immediate attention.
In some cases, the caller tries to convince the recipient that a warrant has been issued for their arrest for failure to report for jury duty, and tries to entice the recipient to share their personal credit card information to pay for the warrant.
The sheriff’s department is advising citizens that the callback number provided in these calls is not for their department, as suggested, and is reminding people not to share any personal or financial information with unknown callers.
“At no time would an Essex County Sheriff’s Department employee call people to demand payment,” said Sheriff Kevin Coppinger in a statement. “Callers demanding payment in a short amount of time is an obvious sign of a scam and illegal attempt to defraud citizens.”
Citizens can call the Federal Communications Commission hotline at 1-888-225-5322 or file an online complaint at https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov. They can contact the Attorney General’s office by calling 617-727-8400 and they can file an online complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov.