WOMP FM HOUSE PARTY
MONROE COUNTY, Ohio — The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about scammers using the agency’s own phone number to trick people into giving up personal and financial information.
The scheme uses caller ID spoofing, a technique where callers falsify the information displayed on a recipient’s phone to make the call appear to come from a trusted source — in this case, the sheriff’s office itself. Once a victim answers, the scammer attempts to collect personal information or request money.
Officials are urging residents to take the following precautions:
- Do not answer calls from unknown or suspicious numbers.
- Hang up immediately if a call seems like a scam.
- Never provide account numbers, Social Security numbers, passwords or other personal information in response to an unexpected call.
Anyone who receives such a call is asked to hang up and contact the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office directly at 740-472-1612.