Scam alert in Harney County

Harney County, Or- (Released from the Harney County Sheriff’s Office) Scam calls are hitting our area again. In the last few days, several residents have received scam calls including the ones below. One of the calls involves a scammer claiming to be with US Customs & Border Patrol who seized a package addressed to the person they’re trying to scam. The scammer claims the package is drugs and that the person needs to come to Texas or there are other options available to resolve the matter. They’re demanding payment through bitcoin.

he other scam calls claim to be with Harney County Circuit Court threatening a warrant due to missed jury duty. The scammer tells the caller to report to the jail or get money to cancel the warrant. The scammer is using names of former and current employees of the county.

In both situations, the scammers are spoofing phone numbers to appear that they are coming from the Court or US Customs.

If you receive a call like this 𝗗𝗢 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗬 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗘, no matter what they say, including verifying your date of birth.

You can call non-emergency Harney County Dispatch to report it at 541-573-6156 or come to the Sheriff’s Office at 485 N. Court in Burns. You can also call Oregon Financial Fraud Consumer Protection 877-877-9392.

Please share this information with family and friends to help protect them from falling victim to these scammers.

A reminder of other scams to hit the area as they tend to come back around:

• Claiming to be the Social Security Administration and/or US Marshal

• Spoofing phone numbers from local agencies such as the hospital or sheriff’s office to get money for an injured family member;

• Threats of arrest for a warrant unless someone pays;

• Claiming to be a deputy threatening the above;

• Claiming to be the IRS with back money owed, making threats of a warrant.

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Elkhorn Media Group