Scammers Posing As Montco Authorities To Steal Money, DA Warns

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — Authorities in Montgomery County are warning the public about a phone scam in which the scammers pose as law enforcement to get the target to pay them.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Montgomery County Sheriff Sean P. Kilkenny said the scam entails a person impersonating a detective or sheriff, who alleges that the resident has an active arrest warrant that requires payment. If they don't pay, they'll be arrested, the scammer tells the target.

According to authorities, these calls are being received by residents countywide.

The scams often work like this:

The fraudster will call and tell the resident they have an active arrest warrant for their failure to appear in court. Scammers will claim their target missed jury duty or didn't appear to testify in a trial either in Montgomery County or in a neighboring county.

Typically, the caller will call themselves "lieutenant" or "detective" with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department. Authorities said the names "Lt. Daniels" and "Det. Rodriguez" have been used in some instances.

Then, the scammer will tell the target their "warrant" can be dismissed by paying about $1,800 at the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in the courthouse.

However, the callers then say cash is not accepted and says payment cards need to be purchased and loaded at a local CVS or Walgreen’s.

The last step in the scam entails the scammers telling targets that the payment kiosk at the courthouse has broken down and says payments can be made over the phone and asks the target to provide the card’s number and accompanying PIN, which will be used by the fraudster to transfer the funds from the cards to their own accounts.

Authorities said the calls are coming from spoofed or fake numbers, making them appear local,
and in some cases, the fraudsters have used spoofing methods to make it appear that the call is
coming from the actual number for the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department.

If the fraudster leaves a message on the resident’s voicemail and then returns the call, the phone call is answered “This is the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office,” and they are put on hold, before the fraudster answers.

"Montgomery County residents need to know that arrest warrants are never handled in this manner," Steele said. "No money is involved if there is a warrant issued for someone’s failure to appear in court. A failure to appear warrant must be handled in a courtroom in front of a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Anyone who has gotten one of these calls should alert Montgomery County Detectives that they received this call."

"Our officers are Deputy Sheriffs—not Lieutenants or Detectives—and they do not operate in this manner," Kilkenny said. "Sheriff personnel will never call a resident demanding money to satisfy a warrant or demand money for any reason."

Montgomery County detectives got a copy of one of the messages and noted a clear southern accent, saying the calls are believed to be coming from a southern state.

Anyone who gets a scam call or message like this and is worried that it may be legitimate, should call the main courthouse phone number of 610-278-3000 and ask for the Sheriff’s Department.

Additionally, anyone who has been a victim of one of these calls and given money to the fraudster is asked to contact the Montgomery County Detective Bureau at 610-278-3368.