The Bay County Sheriff’s Office issued a scam alert this morning after receiving several complaints involving suspicious phone calls made by a man impersonating a law enforcement officer and claiming to be a Lieutenant at the Bay County Sheriff’s Office Warrants Division.
In one of the reported phone calls, the caller identified himself as Lt. Martin with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and informed the victim she had a warrant issued for her because she failed to show up for jury duty. When the victim claimed she never received a summons, “Lt. Martin” began to ask the victim her name and address to help him “verify” he was speaking with the correct person. By doing this, he obtained personal information about the victim.
The victim then told the caller she wanted him to talk about the warrant with her boyfriend who happened to work for a local law enforcement agency. The caller hung up immediately.
It is believed this suspect is attempting to learn personal information in order to commit identity theft or scam his intended victims out of cash by getting them to believe they can pay to have a warrant removed and prevent themselves from going to jail.
The Bay County Sheriff’s Office does NOT solicit money from anyone over the phone.
Anyone who receives a similar suspicious call is advised not to share any personal information with the caller and report the incident to local law enforcement.