KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho — Did you get a phone call from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office? Check again.
KCSO is warning of a rise in scam calls pretending to be the department to scam people and even duplicating the Sheriff’s Office phone number.
The scammers impersonate law enforcement and tell the victim they have outstanding warrants and need personal information and money.
KCSO says the department is getting several calls a day about these scams and many have lost money.
“There’s definitely been an increase in those calls in the last six months,” Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Jeff Howard said. “Within the last month or so, it’s gotten really bad to the point where we’re getting multiple calls from victims every day.”
Lt. Howard said one person in Kootenai County was scammed out of $200,000 by one of these calls.
The sheriff’s office is offering three pieces of advice to people:
Don’t share personal information over the phoneVerify the callerReport suspicious calls here
If you or someone you know has been impacted, you’re asked to call KCSO at 208-446-1854.
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