Telephone scams that surfaced in 2014 are again targeting Doña Ana County residents, posing a variety of threats related to bogus warrants, unpaid taxes and other creative ways to con people out of money. Scammers are also altering the caller ID to make it look like the sheriff’s department or the IRS is calling.
Dozens of calls related to these incidents have been reported to the sheriff’s department recently. Victims all report the same nature of the call: A person falsely identifies themselves as a member of the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Department or the IRS and tells the victim that there is either an outstanding warrant for their arrest, or they are about to be arrested for unpaid taxes.
In order to clear the warrant or settle the debt, the victim is told to deposit money into a Pay Pal account, or purchase a pre-paid debit card and send the card information to an 800 number.
Another variation of the scam involves so-called delinquent accounts with a national appliance store – regardless of whether or not the victim has done business with that store.
In some cases, when the victim refuses to cooperate, they are told a sheriff’s deputy is en route to arrest them.
The Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Department does not contact people by phone regarding outstanding warrants. Anyone who has a warrant for their arrest will be told in person by a uniformed deputy. Any fines or fees that you may owe are also payable only to the court, and not to the sheriff’s department.
The IRS also does not demand immediate payment via the telephone, nor will the agency call about unpaid taxes without first having mailed you a bill.
Anyone who suspects they might be the victim of a scam can call the Consumer Protection Division of the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, (800) 678-1508.
Informaton from Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Department