The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind the public to remain on alert for phone scams.
Today two Southern Humboldt residents reported to the Sheriff’s Office that they received a phone scam from someone claiming to be with law enforcement and that the recipients had warrants out for their arrest. The scammer told the residents that Sheriff’s deputies would be responding to their homes to arrest them if they did not pay a fine using Green Dot pre-paid cards or Amazon gift cards. The scammers even called back with a local number similar to that of the Sheriff’’s Garberville Substation.
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office will never call you and threaten to arrest you if you do not pay a fine, demand payment in exchange for dropping a warrant or ask you to pay a fine using pre-paid cards or gift cards.
Technology makes it easy for scammers to fake caller ID information, so the name and number you see aren’t always real. If someone calls asking for money or personal information, hang up. If you think the caller might be telling the truth, call back to a number you know is genuine. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office main number is (707) 445-7251. Our Garberville Substation’s number is (707) 923-2761.
Report phone scams to your local law enforcement and to the Federal Trade Commission at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/.