Manatee County Sheriff Issues Warning Over Phone Scam

BRADENTON, FL — The Manatee County Sheriff's Office has issued a warning over a phone scam in which the caller claims to be from law enforcement and requests a payment.

"If you receive a call from someone saying they are a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputy, there is a warrant for your arrest, and you must pay around $1000 or more to make it go away — it’s a scam," the sheriff's office said Tuesday.

The scammers also use fake caller ID information to make it appear as though they are calling from a local number or from a trusted government agency.

"Several citizens reported receiving this type of call today from our main telephone number: 941-747-3011," officials explained. " The sheriff's office will not call to say deputies are coming to arrest you, and will never ask for any type of payment over the phone. Be careful not to fall for this, or any other potential phone scam."

Officials said the caller ID information could just as easily reflect a familiar business such as a local bank or cable provider.

"The practice is called caller ID spoofing and scammers don’t care whose phone number they use," according to the sheriff's office. "Don’t rely on caller ID to verify who’s calling. It can be nearly impossible to tell whether the caller ID information is real."

The Manatee Sheriff's Office offered the following tips to avoid phone scams:

• If you get a strange call from the government, hang up. If you want to check it out, visit the official (.gov) website for contact information.
• Government employees won’t call out of the blue to demand money or account information.
• Don’t give out — or confirm — your personal or financial information to anyone who calls.
• Don’t wire money or send money using a reloadable card.
• Never agree to pay anyone who randomly calls, even if the name or number on the caller ID looks legitimate.
• Hang up if you are feeling pressured to act quickly. That’s common in phone scams.
• Report suspicious calls to FTC.gov and FCC.gov.
• Visit MyFloridaLegal.com and FreshfromFlorida.com to find more information on scams.