Law enforcement scam hits county

A well-known style of scam in which a person claims to be a member of law enforcement and demands money for an outstanding fine or warrant is reported to have now taken place in Crook County.

According to the Crook County Sheriff’s Office, a series of scam calls have been made recently to residents of the county.

The call involves a male voice on the phone who claims he is Sheriff Jeff Hodge, badge number 387, and is calling about you having warrants, needing to come in and provide DNA sample or pay fines.

The call ends with the statement that you can make the problem go away by paying money over the phone.

“Please know that calls like this are not how the Sheriff’s Office conducts business,” states the Sheriff’s Office in a press release.

This office reports that the scam is not specific to Crook County.

“We have received reports that it is happening in other counties across the state as well, with slightly different wording,” states the press release.

The scam is not limited to Wyoming – it’s happening all over the nation. According to news reports from just the last week or so, law enforcement agencies from Indiana State Police to Garden City PD, Kansas to Johnson City PD, Tennessee have issued warnings to local residents about very similar incidents.

FBI Denver has also recently warned of a telephone spoofing scam in which callers portray themselves as a special agent and the phone number appears to be an FBI number. In this case, victims have been told their identity and/or bank accounts are compromised and they need to immediately move their money to gift cards or cryptocurrency; the caller then asks for information to verify this has been done and uses that information to steal the funds.

Victims have been identified with losses between $940 and $13,000. None of the victims live in Wyoming or Colorado, but numerous other people were contacted by the spoof caller and recognized the call as a scam.

If you have questions about the validity of a call you receive, contact the Sheriff’s Office at 307-283-1225.