Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno is warning residents to be aware of a trend of phishing scams involving phone calls being made, advising the recipient he/she has an active arrest warrant, which requires payment in order to be resolved.
This type of scam will begin as a phone call, which might even appear to come from a legitimate phone number. The scammer on the other end of the call will declare you have an active arrest warrant, which can be resolved by immediate payment. Payment is usually requested by some type of money transfer, gift card purchase, or any other method that can be done completely electronically, in order to avoid in-person contact.
Phishing scams like this are not new, and tend to increase during the holiday season.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office will NEVER make phone calls like this, and will NEVER demand or require immediate payment to resolve any type of legal matter.
If you receive a suspicious phone call, it’s better to simply hang up the phone. If you receive a phone call you believe to be a scam, you can report it to our Fraud Line at (239) 258-3292.
