MANATEE – It’s an old phone scam with a new technological twist to make it harder to detect. Deputies say Manatee residents are getting phone calls demanding they pay around one thousand dollars or end up in jail.
“This is definitely a scam because people would not be calling from the Sheriff’s office asking somebody to provide money to get out of a warrant,” Randy Warren with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
Manatee County Deputies are warning residents of a, ID Spoofing, a phone scam letting people know there is warrant out for their arrest and to pay upwards of at least one thousand dollars…causing some to panic.
“People would be thinking first of all, I didn’t know I had a warrant and I doubt the sheriff’s office would call me but some people may really be frightened by that,” said Warren.
Deputies warns there are countless of apps that people can use to disguise their phone numbers and change their Caller ID to display a different number.
One app we discovered is Spoof card that also allows you change your voice and add background noise to make the call believable.
“We hope that people recognize that and exercise a little bit of common sense and figuring this just sounds like it’s not legit,” Warren said.
Deputies say a red flag to be on the lookout when getting one of these calls would be if you are threaten or feel pressured to make a payment over the phone
“If anyone is saying you need to pay or go to jail that’s a scam,” Warren said.
Some tips to do when receiving phone calls like this would be to first hang up if the call seems strange coming from a government official. Don’t give out or confirm personal information and never wire or send money to someone who calls out of the blue.
