Scammers Targeting Oakland County Residents, Sheriff Warns

OAKLAND COUNTY, MI — Officials in Oakland County are warning residents to watch out for phone scams as they are investigating two new cases.

The cases centered on two women in their 40s who were threatened with jail time because of a phony claim that they missed jury service.

The caller told the women they needed to call the sheriff's office to discuss a confidential legal matter, officials said.

The women were then given real names of actual command staff members, who are employed by the Sheriff’s Office but a phony number, officials said.

The caller told them they would be arrested and jailed unless they made an immediate payment to a bitcoin machine, officials said.

One woman was told to go to a location and deposited $1,000 to avoid jail time, officials said.

Officials said she became suspicious when she was told she could not get a receipt for her payment. She then filed a complaint with the sheriff’s office.

The second victim returned the call but became suspicious and did not follow up with any payment. She also went on to file a complaint, officials said.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said his office will never call anyone and demand immediate payment for anything, including missed jury service, an unpaid ticket or to bond a loved one out of jail.

He urged residents to hang up if they get such a call.

"These scams and scammers have become more sophisticated and more creative, finding new ways to rob innocent citizens of their hard-earned money," Bouchard said. "We continue to remind anyone who receives an unsolicited phone call from someone representing themselves as a government entity demanding immediate payment for anything that it is a scam. Don’t believe it. Hang up.”