Scammer Pretending To Be County Sheriff Targets Waukesha Residents

WAUKESHA, WI — A potential scammer pretending to be a member of the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office called county residents and claimed outstanding warrants or citations for money, the sheriff's office announced.

Residents in Waukesha County and surrounding counties told sheriffs they were called by people claiming to be law enforcement who wanted to collect money, agency spokesperson Nicholas Ollinger said in a statement.

Law enforcement wouldn't call people on the phone to claim they have outstanding warrants or citations, or to collect money with pre-paid cards, officials said.

People who get a call from someone claiming to be law enforcement who asks for money should ignore the request, hang up and call the sheriff's office at 262-548-7122, Ollinger said.

Robokiller, a company that makes an app to block spam calls or texts, said 11 billion spam texts were sent to residents across America, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. There were more than 15 billion spam texts sent to Americans in 2021.

The Wisconsin Better Business Bureau warned of a phishing text that sometimes reads, "I was hoping we could repeat last night," and includes the photo of a blonde or red-haired woman, WISN-12 reported.

A scammer used the names of two Wisconsin Powerball winners and falsely promised a share of the winnings to people, WBAY-TV reported.