Scammers are using spoofed numbers from the Sheriff’s Office and the Health Department.
FREDERICK, MD. (LG) There’s been an increase in phone scams in Frederick County. That’s according to Taylor Clarke, a spokeswoman for the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office. “These calls are common during the end of the tax season,” she says. “However we have been noticing a different trend lately, where scammers are now spoofing numbers coming from the 301-600 numbers that we recognize coming from the County,” she continued.
The 301-six hundred numbers are local numbers associated with the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office and the Frederick County Health Department.
“The numbers coming from the Sheriff’s Office main line, they’re typically going to pose as a Lieutenant or Sergeant and ask you to report to the Sheriff’s Office for a warrant or something, and if you say okay I’m heading to the Sheriff’s Office, they will often tell you, well wait you can pay the amount you owe through a gift card and they might ask for your bank or credit car information,” continued Clarke.
Calls being spoofed by scammers using the Frederick County Health Department’s main number often tell victims they have lost their benefits. “Like Medicaid, and they are being asked the same as the ones coming from the Sheriff’s Office, saying you can pay something over the phone to take care of it.”
Authorities say if you receive a call like this, but you are unsure if it is legitimate, hang up and re-dial the number to confirm any information that was given to you. “When you do this, you will be calling the actual number and you will be able to speak to a legitimate representative.”
By Loretta Gaines