Pinellas Resident Scammed Out Of $12,500 By Sheriff's Office Pretender

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office is continuing to encourage the public to be on alert to popular phone scams occurring in Pinellas County.

People are calling residents in Pinellas County and identifying themselves as a Pinellas County Sheriff's Office employee.

According to deputies, a resident was called Friday and identified himself as Sgt. Ryan Armstrong. He told the victim that she was going to be charged with failure to appear for a civil violation, and a warrant was issued for her arrest. The victim was then transferred to men claiming to be Jack Peterson and Lt. John Luckett. Deputies said the victim was convinced the men were who they claimed to be after researching their names online. The men instructed the victim to buy multiple gift cards in various denominations totaling more than $12,500 to resolve the warrant. The victim purchased all the gift cards and provided the bar codes to the scammers over the phone.

The scammers called from 727-582-6242, which is the main line for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Civil Court Services. They also spoofed their number to appear as 727-582-6200, the main phone number for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office will never call residents requesting money, gift cards or account information over the telephone. The sheriff advises residents not to give personal information or account information over the phone to anyone and call law enforcement directly to report suspicious requests.

Anyone who has information on this scam or has become a victim should call the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office at 727-582-6200.