Oakland County Sheriff Warns Scammers Are Posing As Officials Again

OAKLAND COUNTY, MI — The Oakland County Sheriff's Office is warning that posers are out again looking to scam residents.

Sheriff's officials said the posers are calling residents and asking for money due to missed jury service or to bail out a family member from jail.

Officials say to ignore or hang up those calls, and reiterated that no one from the sheriff's office will call residents asking for money.

"These scams are frustrating and robbing innocent citizens of their hard-earned money," Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. "We continue to remind anyone that receives a phone call from someone representing themselves as a government entity demanding immediate money that it is a scam."

Bouchard said scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated. In one instance, a victim became suspicious when the caller gave accurate information about him and quoted laws he supposedly violated. Officials said he hung up and called the sheriff's office.

In another scam, the caller used the name of a sergeant who is employed in the sheriff’s office and read the woman her actual social security number to her, officials said.

The woman became suspicious and called the sheriff’s office, who confirmed the call was not legitimate, officials said.

"The Sheriff’s Office would never use a social security number as an identifier for a person over the phone," Bouchard said.

Bouchard said anyone with concerns about such calls should call the Sheriff’s Office dispatch at 248-858-4950.