LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Spencer County Sheriff's Office is warning community members about an ongoing phone scam.
Chief Deputy Andrew Ware said this past week, multiple people have fallen victim to this scam, losing a total of around $20,000.
According to Ware, when the scammer calls, it looks like the number is coming from the sheriff's office, when in fact, it is not. Then, the scammer asks for money.
"Basically the scammers are calling, they're using a spoof number that is our actual office number, and they're telling people they've missed their jury date and a warrant has been issued for their arrest," said Ware.
Ware said the scammers then tell the victim to pay a certain amount of money to avoid going to jail.
"We have people making payments in bitcoin and gift cards and stuff like that, and there's really no way we can ever get that money back for them once they've made that payment," Ware said.
Ware said deputies will never call and ask for money.
"We will never contact you and ask you for any form of payment," he said. "We never contact anyone and tell them they have a warrant. You know, if we contacted people and told them they had a warrant, we'd have a hard time getting those people."
Ware said scams like these have been going on for a while and are difficult for local authorities to track down.
He said the number being spoofed is the office number, which is 502-477-3200. Ware said if someone gets a call from this number and it doesn't seem right, hang up the phone. He said people can call the sheriff's office back at the same number to get in touch with a deputy.
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