Scammers are getting trickier, and a recent scam is going as far as spoofing the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office's actual number.

Scammers Are Getting More Convincing

It seems like we are constantly hearing about new scams popping up, and unfortunately, as technology rapidly evolves, so do the methods scammers use. One of the methods commonly used by scammers is called "spoofing."

The FCC defines spoofing as:

Spoofing is when a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity. Scammers often use neighbor spoofing so it appears that an incoming call is coming from a local number, or spoof a number from a company or a government agency that you may already know and trust.

I had a scammer spoof my number one time, and I got a ton of angry phone calls from people saying I had just called them... I had, in fact, not. Now, scammers are targeting local agencies and attempting to make their calls look even more legit because the number your phone shows is that of an actual local law enforcement agency.

Evansville Resident Shares a Warning About a Call From the "Sheriff's Office"

Scams targeting local places are not new, but this one is pretty brazen. Recently, Tonya Allan Macer shared a cautionary tale on Facebook about getting a call from the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office (VCSO), but the person on the other end was NOT from the VCSO.

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The call started off a bit jarring when she learned she had missed jury duty and needed to immediately spring into action to fix this issue. Tonya was quick to trust the call because the phone number on the caller ID was the actual VCSO phone number. Luckily, when they demanded money, she quickly realized she was being scammed and was able to shut it down before losing any money.

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Here is what happened in Tonya's words:

I got a call from the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office because i did not appear for jury duty. I was not aware I was on jury duty. They called from the Sheriff's number 812-421-6200. I verified the phone number. They stated i needed to go to the Sheriff's office immediately to do a signature verification. They told me to go straight to my car, my 3 grandkids jumped in my car, i know who has my 6, if I'm going to thr Sheriff's Office they're going with me. They wanted the mileage of my vehicle. Read me my rights. They made me read the offense description. They could detain me for 72 hours or I would have to post a $9,000 bond. WHOOPS THERE IT IS!

Grand jury 2 citations against me.
Failure to appear 22cef1429x
Attempt of court
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Officer Tom Leatham # 92503

Meanwhile, I'm texting my nephew, the attorney, Katie is calling 911. It was so real but it was a scam. Wow! The Sheriff's office said they're getting about 50 of these a day and asked me to spread the word. They knew my name, phone number, and address

What to Do if You Believe You May Be Getting a Scam Call from a Known Number

I recently had the chance to talk with Vanderburgh County Sheriff Noah Robinson about these scams targeting our area.

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I asked him what someone should do if they get a phone call from a number like the VCSO, and someone on the other end is asking them for information or telling them something that seems suspicious. He said the best way to handle this situation is to let the caller know that you will call them back. He said if it's a scammer, they will do whatever they can to keep you on the line; that's when you know to just hang up.

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He said if you have been the victim of a scam, please contact 911 and file a police report immediately. However, if you have received a scam call and want to report it, you can do so through the VCSO website and click to submit a tip. He said that way, if they notice changes in scams being reported to them, or certain scams ramping up, they can always alert the public.