The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office and Lewis County Superior Court are warning the public about recent scam calls by “someone purporting to be an employee of the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.”
“These calls have been an attempt to gain personal information, or an attempt for financial gain by advising the recipients they have a warrant out for their arrest for missing jury duty. The jury duty scam calls often involve the caller explaining a process in which the recipient needs to send funds in order to resolve the issued warrant, and will often tell the individual not to contact law enforcement as they will be arrested on the warrant,” the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office stated in a news release.
These scams are often conducted by utilizing internet-based applications to display local phone numbers or simply providing a fictitious or copied phone number, according to the sheriff’s office.
While this type of scam has been prevalent over the last decade, recent callers have identified themselves as actual current employees of the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
“Our office, as well as the courts, do not use these tactics to resolve jury duty related issues. Furthermore, employees of our agency will not attempt to have an individual provide funds in order to resolve an issued warrant,” the sheriff’s office stated. “We are asking the public to remain vigilant to the ever-increasing amount of scams via telephone and internet. If you are contacted by someone from a government agency and believe it seems suspicious, it is recommended you find independent contact information for the agency and contact them directly. Additionally, we recommend the public not share any personal identifying information with anyone whom they are not certain of their identity.”
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office’s main office line is 360-748-9286 and Lewis County Superior Court’s main office line is 360-740-1333.
