Watch Out for Scammers Pretending to Be Officers

Be on the lookout for phone scammers pretending to be officers trying to scam you out of money.

According to WOOD, sheriff's departments in Kent and Kalamazoo counties are warning folks in West Michigan about phone scammers claiming to work for the sheriff's department.

Sheriff deputies say the scammers are calling and saying you have warrants for your arrest, or that you have missed jury duty and even claiming you have a family member that is in jail and needs bond money.

Then the scammers try to get you to pay using prepaid or gift cards. This is something an a real officers would never ask you.

Some scammers even go to the trouble of making their phone number look like its coming from a real sheriff's department. Officers say fake caller ID's are easy to fake so never trust any of them.

Deputies say, if you happen to get a call like this, immediately hang up and call the real police because the real authorities would never ask you for money.