Dayton, Ohio – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) is warning local residents of a current scam using imposters pretending to be law enforcement authorities in response to a concerning rise in fraudulent activity. Reports of scammers posing as staff members, using residents under threat of arrest, have increased according to the MCSO.
Usually, the fraud consists in a phone call to residents in which the caller, posing as an MCSO officer, says the resident has outstanding warrants. The resident is advised to move money into a Bitcoin wallet—a red flag given the untraceable character of such transactions—in order avoid supposed immediate arrest
Through a recent social media post, the MCSO made it quite evident that these kinds of strategies are not part of their working policies.
“As a friendly reminder, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office will never call you demanding payment to avoid arrest.” said MCSO in a social media post. This is a common scam in our community, and the scammers may even use actual names of our deputies, command staff, or other personnel.
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Although this kind of fraud is not new, it usually comes and goes periodically, preying on locals’ worries by posing credible leaders such as police enforcement or municipal officials. The Sheriff’s Office underlined that these con artists are getting more adept and occasionally use real names of deputies or command staff to give their claims more credibility.
Authorities advise locals to be alert. Over the phone sharing of personal information is dangerous, particularly in cases of questionable caller legitimacy. Those who answer such calls are urged to hang up right away and phone their neighborhood law enforcement department to document the unusual activities.
The MCSO is committed to protecting locals from such fraudulent activities by means of information and assistance to possibly affected individuals. By means of public awareness and community cooperation, they aim to minimize the effect of these misleading calls on Montgomery County’s population.
