Authorities warn of continuing phone scammers posing as local police, IRS

Stock image | Photo by tuan_azizi, Getty Images, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Despite how much the public is warned about phone scams, they just never seem to go away. From bogus claims that a person owes the IRS money to fake warrants with high fines attached, police agencies continually advise the public be wary of these calls and to report them.

The St. George Police Department on Tuesday posted a reminder over social media about the ever-popular IRS phone scam.

The caller in this scam often claims the potential victim owes the IRS money for some reason and instructs them on where to send their payment. As the St. George Police points out in its Facebook post, “The #IRS is NOT GOING TO CALL YOU and demand money.”

Instead, if a scammer calls, people are advised to go to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center website and report the offending phone number.

Meanwhile, across the state line in Arizona, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about a scam involving someone posing as a sheriff’s deputy claiming they have warrants for the scam target’s arrest due to missing jury duty.

A voicemail was left with a would-be scam victim from 928-846-3316 extension 702, the Sheriff’s Office said in a post on its Facebook page Monday. The woman who received the call contacted the Sheriff’s Office about it and they had a staff member call the number.

The staff member was told by the bogus sheriff’s deputy that needed to pay $1,450 per warrant and were instructed on how to pay. When the staff member told the scammer they didn’t have a mobile phone number, which was included in the steps to pay, the call was disconnected. Repeated attempts to call the scammer back failed.

“Contrary to this elaborate scam, the Courts do not issue arrest warrants for failure to appear for jury service,” said Judge Charles W. Gurtler, Jr, who presides over the Mohave County court. “If a person is subpoenaed for jury service, and does not appear, no arrest warrant is issued.”

To learn out about other phone scams, visit the Federal Trade Commission website.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @MoriKessler

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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