San Diego-area officials warn of phone scammers

Callers claiming to be a sheriff ’s deputy ask for money to make a false warrant go away.

SAN DIEGO — San Diego County sheriff ’s officials are warning residents to stay alert for phone scams in which the caller claims to be a deputy and solicits a payment in exchange for making a fictitious arrest warrant go away.

Such calls have targeted residents recently in Poway and the surrounding area, Sheriff’s Lt. Christopher Collier said.

“These incidents involve unknown persons representing themselves as members of the Sheriff ’s Department, and claiming the person they have called has a warrant for their arrest, or somehow otherwise owes money to either the County of San Diego or the Sheriff ’s Department,” Collier said in a statement.

Sometimes the scammers provide the targeted individual with a real callback number from the Sheriff ’s Department, and in the past “have actually used the names of real department employees,” Collier said.

In an effort to appear legitimate, the scammers sometimes request a meeting in the parking lot of a government building or a sheriff ’s substation, the lieutenant said.

Collier reminded residents that no employees of the Sheriff ’s Department or county will ever call a resident and solicit payments in exchange for taking care of an arrest warrant.

“Nor would any employees ever try to arrange a meeting to allow the ‘payment’ to be made,” Collier said.

The lieutenant urged residents to immediately hang up if they receive a call from a person claiming to be a Sheriff ’s Department employee and soliciting a payment.

Collier said this and other such scams should be reported to the Federal Trade Commission at FTC.gov. If someone falls victim to a scam, believes a crime has been committed and lives within Sheriff ’s Department jurisdiction, he or she can call the department at (858) 565-5200.