New Scam Pretends To Be Essex County Sheriff's Department

ESSEX COUNTY, MA — The Essex County Sheriff's Department is warning residents about a new scam where the caller pretends to be an Essex County deputy. The caller says they have an urgent civil matter to discuss.

According to the sheriff's department, some calls threaten to arrest the person on the other line for failure to show up for jury duty. The scammer requests payment through Visa cards. The department said the number used in the scam isn't the department's real phone number.

"At not time would an Essex County Sheriff's Department employee call people to demand payment," said Sheriff's Kevin Coppinger, "Callers demanding payment in a short amount of time is an obvious sign of a scam and illegal attempt to defraud citizens."