KING COUNTY, Wash. — Scammers have hit a new low, using the real names of detectives, deputies and captains with the King County Sheriff's Office to collect money.
Sgt. Ryan Abbott said over 20 people have shown up to the King County Sheriff's Office, claiming they have paid a fee over the phone and they want to make sure their arrest warrant is cleared.
However, Sgt. Abbott said the sheriff's office never made the calls, and more and more victims are losing thousands of dollars.
Scammers are calling victims, posing as law enforcement and telling them a story about a situation that has lead to a warrant for their arrest.
In order to avoid arrest, victims are asked to head to the store, load money onto gift cards and give the gift card information to scammers over the phone so they can collect the money.
Sgt. Abbott said the scammers are pushy, aggressive and even mean, letting victims know if they refuse, they will be arrested.
"Police will never, ever ask for money over the phone, ever," said Sgt. Abbott. "So if you receive a call from somebody saying that you owe money to the police and need to pay now, hang up-- it's a scam."
Redmond resident Brianna Jellison said one of these scammers tried to get her to fall for the same lie.
"She had called once before and started telling me that the police were going to come and arrest me if I didn't make a payment for something and then I just hung up," said Jellison.
Jellison said she was suspicious, so she did some quick digging and discovered the call was, in fact, a scam.
"I just think that's very sleazy," she said. "Work for your money like everybody else, don't just scam poor, innocent people."
Sgt. Abbott said his own parents even got a call.
"They used [the name of] a deputy with the sheriff's office and [said] 'you owe money,' same type of thing," said Sgt. Abbott. "My mom was actually believing it and actually gave them my phone number."
They never called him, so he decided to reach out to the scammer.
"He actually answered the phone using my name, saying he was me," Sgt. Abbott said.
The Sheriff's Office is hoping to find out who the scammers are.
If you are a victim of this scam or you receive a call, the KCSO is asking that you come forward with any information you have.