Grant County Sheriff's Office warns of phone scam involving deputy impersonator

Residents should be aware “someone is impersonating a deputy and demanding money over the phone,” according to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.

In the phone scam, the caller ID on the victim’s phone indicates the call is from the sheriff’s office, but it actually is not, and the caller says they are a GCSO deputy or use the name of a real deputy to try to sway the victim, the GCSO said in a release.

The scammer also could ask the victim to call back on a direct line, provide a different number and claim “the victim missed a court date, ignored a subpoena or failed to pay a fine,” the release stated. “The scammer uses high-pressure tactics and speaks with a sense of urgency.”

The fake deputy says the victim can rectify the situation by paying a fine in Green Dot gift cards, which makes the victim lose money instantly because the victim reads the card number over the phone.

To ensure whether a call is real, residents can call the sheriff’s office at 509-754-2011.

“The best advice: if you get a money demand call like that, just hang up,” the release stated. “No law enforcement officer requests money over the phone, especially via untraceable gift cards.”