Phone Scammers Extort Victims By Posing As Baltimore City Sheriff's Deputies

By WMAR2NEWS
Posted on 05/13/22 | News Source: WMAR2NEWS

The Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office says scammers are using their phone number to call and extort people out of money.

Complaints about the scam calls have come from as far as New York.

The scammers use sophisticated technology to make it look as if the Sheriff's Office is trying to call.

When someone answers, the scammers pose as deputies and demand payment under the false threat of an arrest warrant.

The phony deputies then blackmail their victims into using various apps such as Apple Pay and Venmo to collect the money.

"If you receive such a call, note the information given including the number displayed on your caller ID and hang up," said Major Sabrina Tapp Harper. "Never give any personal or financial information to unknown callers."

Tapp-Harper added that the Sheriff's Office will never call anyone to notify them of a warrant or demand money to avoid arrest.