BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) — A Southern Illinois sheriff’s department is warning residents about a scam in which someone pretending to be a sheriff’s deputy tells people to send him money or face possible arrest.
The Belleville News-Democrat reports the St. Clair County Sheriff’s department has received more than 10 reports of the scam.
Sheriff’s Capt. Scott Weymouth says a man with a southern accent calls people and says there’s a warrant for their arrest because they missed jury duty. The man says his name is “Deputy Marshal” and says people must pay as much as $2,000.
Weymouth says the department would never contact residents in such a manner.
One of the people who received a call was 69-year-old Imagene Davis. Her advice to others: “Hang up on them. Then call police.”