Hampden Sheriff Nick Cocchi is warning residents that scammers pretending to be sheriff’s deputies have been calling residents and trying to steal money.
Several people reported receiving phone calls from fake deputies demanding money to settle a warrant for a missing court appearance. Some have directed people to deposit cash into a kiosk near the Sheriff’s Serving Office on Liberty Street to avoid arrest. In other calls, the scammer has ordered the resident to pay in gift cards, which are also extremely difficult to trace.
The phone number and caller identification have appeared to be from a local law enforcement agency in the calls, but it is faked by an Internet spoofing service, he said.
In cases where there is a serious situation, the Sheriff’s Department will visit in person and will never ask anyone to make payments by gift cards. If someone calls saying they are from the sheriff’s department, Cocchi is advising residents to just hang up.
“Law enforcement will never make a phone call to try to settle a warrant or related legal matter and they would never ask for money as part of it,” he said.
Cocchi is also asking members of the public to report any suspected scam calls to their local police department.
