WCSO warns of new scam affecting Washtenaw residents

The Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office is reminding residents that our office will never contact you demanding payment for an outstanding warrant. If you receive one of these calls it is a scam and you should hang up immediately.

Over the last several weeks, the WCSO has received numerous calls for service involving law enforcement impersonation scams. The scammers are telling the recipient they are with a local law enforcement agency and are contacting them for an outstanding warrant or other police-related matter. The scammer tells the victim to wire money and/or purchase gift cards. They are then instructed to provide the gift card numbers to take care of the warrant. DO NOT send the numbers, wire money, or meet with the individual to provide payment.

These scams can seem real but they are not! Scammers are using real names of local police officers and may even “spoof” the phone number so that the Sheriff’s Office shows up on your caller I.D. They may even know personal information about you, but it is a scam!

Read the "Don't Fall Victim to Gift Card Scams" consumer alert from the Attorney General.

Please help us by sharing this information. You may not fall for this scam, but others have. Together we can make a difference.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.