Manatee County Sheriff's Office Warns Of Phone Scam

Bradenton FL

19 December, 2020

10:04 AM

Description

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — Detectives are investigating reports of phone scams where callers are pretending to be member of the Manatee County Sheriff's Office. These scammers are telling people they call that they must pay fines or face jail time, the sheriff's office said in a news release. The calls have reportedly appeared on caller ID as 941-747-3011, the actual MCSO non-emergency line. In a recent case, a victim was told by the scammers that she missed jury duty twice and that she would be arrested if she did not pay the fine of $2,000 immediately. The caller instructed her to stay on the phone with him the entire time and to drive to her bank. Once she was at the bank, he instructed her to withdraw $2,000 in cash, then drive back around the bank to the ATM. He told her to deposit the $2,000 into the ATM using an access code. The scammer then told the victim to meet him at a MCSO district office, an obvious attempt to make the transaction appear more legitimate and buy him time to get to the money, the sheriff's office said. The victim explained what happened to deputies when she went to the district office. The scammer never did show up, and the woman was out of $2000. In another case, a person received a call from someone pretending to be with the MCSO looking for a donation to "help kids get off drugs," the sheriff's office said. She gave them a credit card and authorized a $100 charge. Detectives are also looking into that incident. If you receive a call from someone saying they are with any government or law enforcement agency and they request personal financial information or demand payment, know this is a scam, the sheriff's office said. To report similar incidents to the sheriff's office, call 941-747-3011, ext. 2260.