San Andreas, CA…The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office has been made aware of a telephone scam involving a person representing themselves as a deputy. According to victims, they received a call from person stating they were a deputy or a member of the Sheriff’s Office and needed to talk to them about “an ongoing legal matter”. The person then attempts to solicit personal information and in some cases the suspect leaves a number to call back. The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind everyone that we do not solicit personal information over the phone. If you’re contacted by anyone you believe is falsely representing themselves as a law enforcement officer you are urged to call the Sheriff’s Office to make report. Below are some helpful tips to avoid being the victim of a telephone scam.

• Don’t answer unknown callers. It is recommended to avoid unknown calls and entertain any unknown service provider that tries to sell services to you.

• Don’t wire money. Many scammers ask clients to wire money; it is impossible to reverse cash when using wired money given.

• Never reply to messages asking you for financial/personal information. No matter, whether you are receiving messages in the forms of text, email, advertisement, or phone call; you need not to share your financial or personal information with the unknown message senders. This is called ‘phishing.’ Eventually, these crooks try to trick you for stealing sensitive information.

• Do not confirm or deny your identity until you know who is calling. Legitimate calls will indicate who they are and where they are from.

• Do not disclose personal information or passwords. Do not confirm computer usage, ownership of anything in your house or account numbers.

• Be strong an d put safety first. You get all sorts of phone calls from friends, family, business associates, scams, and fraudulent callers. Just asking basic questions and verifying caller information can easily stop you from making a big mistake. Some of these rules may come off sounding rude. But remember: it’s rude for a scammer, telemarketer, and fake non-profit to call you. Real companies won’t be offended.