Berrien County Sheriff Chuck Heit is reminding everyone of the warning signs of phone scams with the latest one continuing to result in calls to his office.
The sheriff’s department warned this month people were reporting calls from a person claiming the would-be victim failed to appear for jury duty. The caller then claims the call recipient must pay a fine to avoid arrest.
Sheriff Heit told the Berrien County Board of Commissioners Thursday there’s are some easy ways to know if you’re dealing with a scammer.
“A couple things to look for,” Heit said. “One, if it is truly the court, we’re not going to call you over the phone and tell you there’s a warrant for you. Two, the way they want payment in a lot of these scams is they want you to go get a debit card or do it through cryptocurrency or do something that is not accepted by the the court.”
Heit noted the latest round of calls have involved the names of real Berrien County Sheriff’s Deputies being dropped as the caller claims to be a deputy. Some calls have used the name of Judge Mabel Mayfield. Heit said the scammers are getting those names from the county website. He says don’t fall for the scam just because the name the caller is using sounds legitimate.
If you get such a call, just hang up and report the scam to Berrien County Central Dispatch.
