Posted on FlashAlert: December 12th, 2024 3:15 PM
On December 11th, the Lane County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a Cottage Grove-area resident who was scammed out of $14,000 over the phone. A relative of the victim received a phone call from a person claiming to be a sergeant with our office. The scammer informed the relative he failed to appear for court and was held in contempt.To “avoid arrest,” the relative was instructed to pay $7,000 for two separate criminal charges, or go to jail. Having no way to pay, the relative reached out to the victim, who pulled cash from savings and followed the scammer’s instructions for payment: in Bitcoin, through a CoinFlip ATM machine.
Due to the use of Bitcoin and VPN phone numbers, this case is likely unsolvable. This type of scam is very common, and we receive reports of similar scam callers almost every day (thankfully with no money lost in most cases). Scammers often have official-sounding voicemail inboxes, have victims’ personal information, and attempt to be intimidating over the phone. Their numbers on caller ID may even appear to be ours.
The Lane County Sheriff’s Office will NEVER ask for money by phone, text, or email. We will NEVER call you about missed jury duty.
If you are contacted by someone claiming to be a Lane County Sheriff’s Office employee and you think you are being scammed, please hang up and contact our dispatch center at 541-682-4141.
If you are a victim of a phone or internet scam, report the incident to the FBI at www.ic3.gov.
Please share with your friends and family!
George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.
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