PHONE SCAM ALERT

Recently, it has come to the attention of several Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Stations that aggressive phone scammers posing as members of LASD have been calling victims, saying they need to meet up to resolve a legal matter. The scammers are scaring victims by telling them they have an arrest warrant, subpoena or jury duty. The scammers then threaten the victims with a search warrant for their home and ends the call by telling the victim to put money on a prepaid card. THIS IS A SCAM. 1. No legitimate police agency will ever ask you to verify your information over the phone. You should never provide your social security number, address, middle name or any other information to anyone calling you. 2. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will never demand an immediate payment in lieu of an arrest. Often times, scammers will use the sense of urgency to rush you to make a payment, threatening to arrest you if you don't pay immediately. That is not how we work. 3. You will never be asked to pay for any legal matter with a Western Union account, prepaid card, ITunes card or any other form of pre paid card. 4. If you ever receive a call from anyone identifying themselves as a peace officer, make sure you ask for their employee number and what station they work out of. You can search for the public telephone number for that station and call back. Do not call the number provided to you by the caller, this may be part of the scam. Keep in mind, scammers are looking for a fast, easy victim. They will use a sense of urgency and instill fear, to get you to act quickly. Many times, elderly family members and those that do not speak English are targeted. Make sure you share this information with your friends and family. If you feel you have been a victim of a crime, call us at (661) 948-8466, we are only a phone call away! #LASD #AV411 #phonescams