PITTSFIELD — Pike County officials are warning of telephone-based fraud schemes in which people impersonate law enforcement or government officials in an attempt to extort money or steal personal, identifying information.
At least two Pike County residents have received such calls from people trying to obtain personal information, Pike County Clerk Natalie Roseberry said.
According to the FBI, impersonators often spoof authentic names and phone numbers and use fake credentials of well-known government and law enforcement agencies.They tend to use an urgent and aggressive tone, refuse to speak to or leave a message
with anyone other than their targeted victim, and urge victims not to tell anyone else — including family, friends or financial institutions — about what is occurring.
A scam artist may demand a specific form of payment, including prepaid debit or credit cards, wire transfers, or cash to be mailed or turned into cryptocurrency. The victim may be asked to read prepaid card numbers over the phone, text a picture of the card to the caller or package mailed cash to avoid detection by normal mail scanning devices. Wire transfers often are sent overseas and funds vanish almost immediately.
Actual law enforcement authorities and government officials will never contact members of the public by telephone to demand any form of payment or to request personal or sensitive information. Any legitimate…