Fresno County Sheriff’s Office warns of phone scam

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday that it’s investigating an apparent ongoing phone scam.

Lt. Shawn Erwin said the sheriff’s office got two reports Friday that matched a previous report last weekend of a scammer calling members of the public and claiming to be a high-ranking sheriff’s employee. The scammer told the callers that they had an active warrant and a citation for failure to appear in court.

The scammer told his prey that they had to immediately pay two separate fines of $250 and ordered them to come to his office to pay the fines. He said his office was located in downtown Fresno and gave a fake address.

One of the targets became suspicious and told the suspect their phone conversation was being recorded. The suspect immediately said that the matter was resolved and hung up.

Erwin said the sheriff’s office never makes solicitations for money or asks for the payment of fines over the phone.

Anyone who receives a similar call is asked to report it to the sheriff’s office at 559-600-3111.

This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 5:21 PM with the headline "Fresno County Sheriff’s Office warns of phone scam."