The Summit County Sheriff’s Office wants to remind the public to be vigilant in recognizing fraud schemes during this holiday season. Every year, thousands of people lose money to telephone scams.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: November 22, 2019
Contact: Erin Opsahl
(970) 423-8901
Erin.Opsahl@SummitCountyCO.Gov
SUMMIT COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE REMINDS PUBLIC TO BE AWARE OF PHONE SCAMS
SUMMIT COUNTY, CO – The Summit County Sheriff’s Office wants to remind the public to be vigilant in recognizing fraud schemes during this holiday season. Every year, thousands of people lose money to telephone scams. The amount lost can vary from a few dollars to a considerable sum of money.
On November 22, 2019, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office received reports of a telephonic fraud scheme from citizens across Summit County. During the scam, people reported that they received a phone call from the Summit County Sheriff’s Office Civil Division claiming that the citizen is involved in a lawsuit and demanded payment.
Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons reminds citizens that neither law enforcement nor courts will ever call you to advise you of a warrant or ask you to submit funds electronically. The Sheriff’s Office is working with the FBI to solve this latest telephonic fraud re-emergence.
Scammers will say anything to get information from you to use for their benefit. They may claim to be affiliated with an entity you trust to convince you to offer personal information such as a credit card or your social security number. Telephone scams are prevalent and can target anyone. Please be aware of who you are speaking to and remember that any sort of tactic may be used to gather information. Do not be a victim. If someone calls you that you are not familiar with do not give out your information and hang up immediately.
Unfortunately, this type of fraud scheme dilutes people's trust or belief in who they're really speaking with. Please be mindful when dealing with suspicious phone calls. Do not give out personal information. To learn more about common fraud schemes visit Stop Fraud Colorado at https://www.stopfraudcolorado.gov or the Internet crime Complaint Center (IC3) at https://www.ic3.gov. Should you have any questions or doubts about phone calls you are receiving please call Summit County Dispatch at 970-668-8600.
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