Essex County Sheriff Warns North Shore Residents Of Telephone Scam

SALEM, MA — The Essex County Sheriff's Department is warning North Shore residents about a rash of scams involving those pretending to be law enforcement representatives seeking immediate payment to resolve arrest and missed jury duty issues.

The Sheriff's Office said the callers use high-pressure tactics in an effort to intimidate residents to pay for offenses they most likely did not commit. Payment is requested in the form of cash, gift cards, bitcoin or electric money transfers — which are very difficult to trace or refund.

Making the scams seem more believable is that they come from "spoof" phone numbers that make it look like they are coming from the Essex County Sheriff's Office or local police departments and include personal details such as home addresses and dates of birth of the target (which is information publicly available in most cases).

The Essex County Sheriff's Department issued a warning on this scam in December 2023 and it remains valid with scam attempts often showing an increase around the holidays.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)