The Etowah County Sheriff’s Office has received reports of scam phone calls from individuals pretending to be a representative of the Sheriff’s Office, in an effort to solicit funds from members of the public.  The person falsely identifies themselves as either a Deputy, Sergeant or Investigator from the Sheriff’s Office, and have been using a real deputy’s name.

The caller may allege that you have warrants for unpaid tickets, missed court or jury duty or have outstanding fees.  They’ll then ask for some sort of payment over the phone.  They will often “spoof”, or fake, their phone number – so that a call appears to be coming from the Sheriff’s Office OR a similar government agency.

The current calls are leaving messages for you to call back and a voicemail will pick up and represent a current employee.  The number calling is (808) 774-6576.

As a reminder, the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office will never call and ask you for money over the phone as any means to collect a payment or threaten you with legal action; if you’re unsure that the caller works for the Sheriff’s Office, you can always hang up and call us back at (256) 546-2825.

We urge you to share information with your friends and family members to prevent them from falling victim to this – and other similar scams.