Vinton County sheriff warns of spoofed phone payment scam

The Vinton County Sheriff’s Office warned residents about a phone scam that spoofs the agency’s number and tells callers they face arrest unless they immediately pay or hand over personal information. The alert reached McArthur and surrounding rural communities, where a familiar local number can make the call sound official at first glance.

The scam uses caller-ID spoofing, official-sounding language and an urgent threat of arrest to push people into reacting fast. Law enforcement will not demand instant payment over the phone to avoid arrest, and it will not ask for gift cards, wire transfers or other unusual forms of payment.

The safest response is to hang up and verify the number independently through the sheriff’s office’s publicly listed contact information rather than redialing the number that appeared on the screen. Residents should also refuse to give out personal information, account numbers or payment details, and should pass the warning along to family members who may be more likely to answer a threatening call.

The office did not identify any confirmed victims in Vinton County, but earlier community complaints involved callers claiming to be deputies, saying people had warrants and demanding money so they would not be arrested.

On Aug. 8, 2014, Attorney General Mike DeWine and Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph T. Deters warned that scam artists were posing as government and law enforcement officials and demanding immediate payment. The Ohio Attorney General’s consumer guidance lists imposter scams as a recurring fraud problem, and local agencies across Ohio have issued similar warnings.