The Coconino County Sheriff鈥檚 Office has been alerted to several new scams by area residents.
The first involves a person identifying themselves as an officer, Carson Cooper, with the 鈥淪heriff鈥檚 Office.鈥� The individual states that the call recipient has an arrest warrant for missing jury duty and demands $6,000 to clear the warrant. This scam appears to be targeting citizens who are legally residing in the United States but threatens deportation if the arrest warrant isn鈥檛 paid.
The second scam recently employed is a text message from the 鈥淎rizona Ministry of Communications鈥� with a 鈥淔inal Notice鈥� to pay an outstanding traffic ticket. It threatens to report the failure to pay to the DMV database, suspend your vehicle registration, suspend the recipient's driving privileges for 30 days, impose a 35% service fee if paid at toll location, criminal prosecution and a negative credit score entry. It offers a 鈥減ay now鈥� link.
A third fraudulent scam targets individuals for a failure to appear in court and to make a bond payment.
Anyone receiving such a call should contact the Coconino County Sheriff鈥檚 Office at (928) 774-4523 or local law enforcement. Contacting local law enforcement will allow you to confirm any fine or warrant. The Coconino County Sheriff's Office reminds people to always be suspicious of unsolicited phone calls, texts or emails, and be cautious of mimicked telephone numbers and email addresses. Even if the information displayed on the caller ID appears the same as a law enforcement or a government agency, hang up and call the agency directly to verify the caller鈥檚 legitimacy.
Never use a phone number provided to you by the caller to verify credibility, give money or personal information to someone with whom you don't have ties and did not initiate contact with and be sure to take your time and trust your instincts. If an unknown caller makes you uncomfortable or says things that don't sound right, hang up. No law enforcement agency will call to solicit or collect funds.