ST. GEORGE — The Kane County Sheriff’s Office issued an alert Monday warning of two phone scams circulating the area, including one in which con artists impersonate police.
“The first scam targets the elderly,” the alert stated. “They call and say your grandson or other family member has been arrested and you need to post bail immediately. They will say they are a detective or other official and demand you send them cash for bail.”
Sheriff and police agencies do not call demanding payment of fines or bail, the Sheriff’s Office said in its alert, adding that anyone who receives a call from someone asking to be sent cash or Western Union funds should hang up and call local law enforcement.
The other scam, according to the Sheriff’s Office, involves fraudsters trying to get people to buy vehicle warranties.
The caller doesn’t know what kind of car the person actually owns and will attempt to get that information through a series of questions, which authorities say should not be answered.
“If they are legit they will have the right information,” the alert states.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the number comes from a company called “Your Warranty Company” with a “spoofed” number originating from Heber City.
Authorities recommend the following tips when dealing with suspicious calls:
- Never answer “yes” to any question.
- Never give out personal information.
- Always ask questions, such as “Where did you get my information? Who are you attempting to contact? What is the name of the person you say got arrested? What agency are you with and what is your call-back number?”
- Contact your local law enforcement if you are not sure what to do.
- Never send money to anyone who calls and says they are from a government entity.
The two schemes reported by Kane County Sheriff’s Office are among many recent phone scams targeting residents throughout Southern Utah.
In addition to scammers posing as law enforcement authorities, another popular scam involves con artists posing as IRS agents threatening taxpayers with police arrest, deportation and license revocation.
Read more: IRS Dirty Dozen: Recap of the top 12 tax scams for 2017
Suspicious calls should be reported to authorities.
- Kane County Sheriff’s Office – 435-644-2349.
- Kanab Police Department – 435-644-5854.
- Iron County Sheriff’s Office – 435-867-7500.
- Cedar City Police Department – 435-586-2955.
- Washington County Sheriff’s Office – 435-656-6644.
- St. George Police Department – 435-627-4300.
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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.
Also getting the robo calls
” Your computer’s Windows license has expired and will be frozen , call 1 – 844 – 874 – 0222 to prevent shutdown “.
Bwaaaaa Hahahahahaaaaa – robo doesn’t know Macs don’t use Windows .
Still a scam , hope Microsoft computer users do NOT fall for it !