An unsettling bogus robocall going around is telling people that they face arrest for serious allegations.
KIRO 7 News received a report about the call, where an automated voice says, “You will be taken under custody by the local cops. There are four serious allegations pressed on your name at this moment. We would request you get back to us so we can discuss this case before taking legal action.”
In many cases, these calls ask people to pay hundreds of dollars or face arrest.
The call came from a Jacksonville, Florida area code. It wasn’t made to a Seattle-area number, but since there are plenty of transplants – who have an array of area codes – we talked to the King County Sheriff’s Office about what you should do if you get this message.
“Unfortunately there are quite a few scams going on where the suspects attempt to get money from unsuspecting citizens,” King County Sheriff’s Department Spokesperson Cindi West said.
“These scams range from the 'jury scam,' where the caller pretends to be a law enforcement officer who threatens to arrest you if you don’t pay a fine for failing to report for jury duty, to similar scams involving alleged warrants for your arrest.
“Some of the callers are convincing and may even have spoofed law enforcement agencies name on the caller ID. The scammers may even have quite a bit of personal information about you they have learned via the internet. Others scams are simply robocalls that threaten people with arrest if they don’t pay a fine.”
“These calls are all scams! The Sheriff’s Office or jury duty personnel would never call you and ask for money for failing to appear for court or a warrant,” she added. “Osaidur advice if you get one of these calls, hang up! Don’t engage with them and never ever send anyone money!
If you ever have a question about the legitimacy of a call, contact the King County Sheriff’s Office.
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Cox Media Group
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