Sheriff Warns Of Imposter Telephone Scam

RACINE COUNTY, WI — Officials in Racine County are alerting the public of a telephone scam in which the person on the other end of the line is said to be impersonating a Racine County Sheriff's Official.

Racine County Sheriff's officials say the suspects reportedly call a victim and identify themselves as a supervisor from the Racine County Sheriff’s Office, saying they missed a jury duty summons. When questioned, the suspect further advises he is also investigating the US Postal Service for their failure to deliver the summons, officials say.

Officials say that during the course of the fraudulent phone call, the suspect demands that the victim go to a Walgreens or similar store and buy pre-paid gift cards. The victim is then told to call another number and provide the “clerks” with the gift card number and corresponding PIN on the back of the card.

The Racine County Sheriff’s Office and other government agencies say they do not solicit or accept fine payments of any kind in the form of pre-paid gift cards, Itunes cards, Amazon cards, for example.

Authorities are recommending that if people get calls such as this, to call local authorities to report the telephone scam.

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