Scam callers identifying themselves as Madera Co. Dept. of Social Services

The Madera County Sheriff’s Office is warning of a “spoofing” scam with suspects claiming to be from the Madera County Department of Social Services.

Over the past few weeks, residents in Madera, Fresno, Tulare and Sanger have been receiving phone calls from someone saying they’re Madera County social services, Cmdr. Bill Ward said. The caller claims to need demographic and personal identifying information on behalf of the social services department.

An initial investigation revealed that one call-back number given by the suspects is based in Puerto Rico, Ward said. It appears the suspects are somehow “spoofing” their phone number to show up as the Madera County social services number. The phone number appearing on caller ID, 559-675-7841, is the actual phone number for Madera County social services.

The department is not making these calls, and there is no legitimate reason a representative would call and ask for this kind of information, Ward said. A citizen gave the caller personal information in at least one instance.

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 10:05 PM with the headline "Scam callers identifying themselves as Madera Co. Dept. of Social Services."