Mercer County Sheriff Warns of Telephone Scams

Mercer County Sheriff Jack Kemler is warning residents and businesses about suspected phone scams and aggressive callers based on phone calls his office has received over the last week.

The warning comes following similar phone solicitations that plagued the county last spring.

“The Sheriff’s Office does not solicit monies from public citizens for any means, especially by telephone,” Kemler said.

While police fraternal organizations will occasionally solicit funds for various causes, these fundraising telephone calls are not sanctioned by the Sheriff’s Office. The telephone calls appear to stem from a for-profit “calling tank” hired by the sheriff’s Superior Officers Association of the Fraternal Order of Police #140.

Kemler said he received a solicitation on his personal cell phone from someone falsely portraying himself as a Mercer County Sheriff’s Officer aggressively asking him for a contribution.

“Although the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office is not involved in these solicitation campaigns, I do want to apologize for any inconvenience, annoyance and alarm these calls are causing,” Kemler said. “We are not encouraging or discouraging anyone from contributing to worthwhile charities, however I do want to make it clear these fundraisers are not officially connected with the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office in any way.”

Kemler advises residents to use common sense. If a local resident or business suspects a particular telephone call may be a scam, simply hang up.

Anyone who receives a solicitation call and is uncertain as to the validity of the fundraiser is encouraged to contact the NJ Division of Consumer Affairs-Charitable Registration Hotline at 973-504-6215 or the Mercer County Division of Consumer Affairs at 609-989-6671 during regular business hours.

“I have every intention to pursue these fraudulent solicitations with the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and our County and State offices of Consumer Affairs,” Kemler said.