Tuesday, January 10, 2023

SCAM ALERT: State Police Warn of Phone Scam Claiming to the be the Schuylkill County Sheriff's Office

The Pennsylvania State Police are investigating and warning Schuylkill County citizens about a phone scam.

According to Troopers from the Schuylkill Haven Barracks, on Tuesday, January 10th, 2023, around 1:50pm, a resident of Washington Township near Pine Grove received a voicemail from a phone number (570) 487-5675 by someone claiming to be "Sergeant Jeremy Talon" from the Schuylkill County Sheriff's Office.

The victim was urged to contact the number back in reference to a warrant that had been issued for the victim's arrest.  The information regarding the warrant was fraudulent and a warrant for the victim's arrest did not exist.

State Police say this same tactic has been used in similar incidents to leverage individuals into providing their confidential information and/or bank information to fraudulently transfer money from their bank accounts to the scammer.

Other attempts have been reported to the Schuylkill County Sheriff's Office and Schuylkill Haven State Police Barracks.

State Police say the suspects in these scams are using internet generated computer based phone numbers with local area codes.  The suspect in this incident was said to have spoken in English with no discernable accents and played background sounds consistent with a law enforcement radios and/or recording noises.

Anyone who have had similar experiences are encouraged to report it to their local law enforcement agencies.