SCIOTO COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – The Scioto County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents to be wary of phone scammers.

The sheriff’s office say they have received multiple calls from residents regarding the scam. Deputies say residents have reported that the Caller ID from the scam call indicates the calls are allegedly coming from the “Scioto County Sheriff’s Office” and that an arrest warrant will be issued for the resident if certain actions are not taken.

The sheriff’s office says they are not making these calls and this is a scam.

Scioto County Sheriff David Thoroughman reminds residents that scammers often pretend to be from an organization you know, such as a local government office, Social Security Administration, the IRS, or Medicare, or other business or a charity the resident may know. They could also make up a name that sounds official.

Another way the scammers try to trick residents into believing they are a legitimate organization is by using technology to change the phone number that appears. Thoroughman says this is why residents are seeing the “Scioto County Sheriff’s Office” come up as the Caller ID on these recent scam calls.

The scammers will have a message claiming there is either a prize or a problem. Throughman says examples include the scammers claiming the resident is in trouble with the government and/or owes money, has won some type of prize or sweepstakes, that a relative has had an emergency, or there is a virus on their computer or a problem with an account. The scammers then try to get the resident to give them personal information by saying they need to verify it to solve the issue or claim the prize.

Thoroughman warns that scammers will also try to put pressure on their intended victim to act immediately before they have time to think. The sheriff warns some methods to this are to threaten to arrest the resident, sue the resident, or take away their driver’s license. They could also claim the resident’s computer is about to be corrupted if the scammer is claiming they have a virus or problem with an account.

According to the sheriff, scammers also try to get their intended victim to pay them in a specific way such as a money transfer company, a gift card or even send you a fake check to deposit and send them back the cash. Throughman reminds residents to never pay someone who insists on any of these methods and do not deposit a check to send cash back to the sender.

“Stop and talk to someone you trust,” the sheriff’s office says. “Before you do anything else, tell someone – a friend, a family member, a neighbor – what happened. Talking about it could help you realize its a scam.”

If you think you or someone you know has been the victim of a scam, contact your local law enforcement agency.