Montco Sheriff Chagrined That Phone Scam Invokes His Office's Name
By Brad Segall
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- Law enforcement officials in Montgomery County, Pa. now say some local residents have been victimized by a phone scam that uses the sheriff's department as bait.
Sheriff Russell Bono says at least one victim has reported a loss of $600. Another couple, from Washington, DC, drove all the way to Norristown after getting a call. And a Pottstown couple narrowly avoided getting scammed.
He says scammers use "spoofed" caller IDs, tell people they owe money to the county, then threaten them with arrest if they don't buy a Green Dot prepaid card and call them back with the card's numbers.
Bono says the Pottstown couple smelled something fishy.
"He did go and purchase the cards, but then thought about it. And they (the scammers) said to him, 'Well, we're going to come and arrest you.' And he said, 'Well, I'll be at the courthouse tomorrow morning. You come and arrest me.' And then he came in here."
Bono says scams like this can erode the public's trust.
"Of course the people that lose money, they're out that money, and I regret that, and that bothers me also. But it's confidence in law enforcement in general, and the sheriff's department in particular, that's very hard to get back," he said today.
Bono says the cases have been turned over to the district attorney's office and they hope they can get a break that leads them to the scammers.
He says they never call anyone unless a warrant has already been issued.
