Last week, the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office received several reports of a law enforcement impersonator scam. The scam involves an individual falsely claiming to be a Stafford Sheriff's Office deputy. The caller tells the victim that they have missed jury duty and they are in trouble with the law. The caller provides a fake badge number in an attempt to appear legitimate. They further state that the victim is wanted for “Failure to Attend Jury Duty” and “Contempt of Court”. After detailing this information, the caller claims that the victim can have these charges removed if they pay a fine. They then instruct the victim to pay a sum averaging $1,800 in MoneyPak cards and tell the victim to send the card information to the caller. If the number the scammer used is called back, it goes to an automated message claiming to be the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency number.

The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office continues to remind everyone:

• Law enforcement agencies will never demand money over the phone.
• No law enforcement officer will seek monetary reimbursement to remove warrants or avoid charges.
• A government agency or legitimate business will never ask you to make payment via gift cards. Anyone who demands payment this way is a scammer!

If you have any concerns on the validity of a call coming from a law enforcement agency, please contact the Sheriff’s Office non-emergency line at (540) 658-4400.