NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WDRB) -- Southern Indiana residents have recently answered phone calls from people claiming to be the Floyd County Sheriff's Department. The person on the other end of the line uses the names — and even voices — of real deputies, but it's a scam.

One Floyd County resident who wanted to remain anonymous for this story said he received the call a few weeks ago.

"They said, 'This is Officer — I believe it was — Pollard ... calling from the Floyd County Police Department,'" the man said.

By the end of the call, he was scammed out of $1,000.

"He said they were making a one-time courtesy call to try to resolve this situation, to get the warrant in a non-active state," he said. 

The caller said the fine was $2,700.

"I said, 'Well, there's no way that I can pay this amount of money,'" the man said. "He said, 'Well, what are you able to do?' And I told him I would try I maybe could get $1,000, which wasn't even half of what they had said that the fine was from the court."

The victim paid, but the calls didn't stop.

"They ended up calling me ... three times, like 12:02, 12:03, 12:04, from that same original number that they had called me from, and I did not answer them," he said.

The caller left a voicemail:

"This is Deputy Pollard with the Floyd County Sheriff's Office," the caller said. "If you would, give me a call back at your earliest convenience."

The name and even the voice on the other end of the call matched a Floyd County sheriff's deputy.

"Somebody sent me recording, and it sounded like the officer," Floyd County Sheriff Steve Bush said.

Bush said the callers may sound legit. but it's a scam. and chances are good there won't be an arrest.

"It's hard to track them down," he said Thursday. "A lot of times, it's from overseas, so it makes it really challenging for an investigative purpose."

Bush said if you receive a phone call for a court summons, the person on the other end of the call will never ask for money.

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