Marion County Sheriff warns residents about scammers posing as police

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office says telephone scams are on the rise from con artists claiming to be members of law enforcement, often demanding money or confidential information from their victims.

Marion County Sheriff Kerry Forestal said most scammers use threats against their victims if they do not comply and act quickly.

“They would call and say that they have that grandchild in a foreign country or another state under arrest, and put that pressure on them to make decisions they probably wouldn't have done if thought through,” Forestal said. “Their scams of using law enforcement is the same thing; ‘right now... make a decision, or you're going to jail.’”

One common scam is to tell the victim that they missed jury duty, have a warrant out for their arrest, and must pay money to resolve the matter. Forestal said these scare tactics are red flags for fraud.

“If you have a doubt, because one of the things that happens is, the more often you take the call, the more often it's recognized that it's a legitimate telephone number that scammer or other scammers will try, because they don't always come back on the same number; they’re just trying to get that hook.”

Forestal said the Marion County Sheriff’s Office never calls about jury duty or criminal warrants and if the caller demands cash, gift cards, or digital currency like Bitcoin – simply hang up. Forestal also suggests residents sign up for the “do not call” list through the Indiana Attorney General’s website.

Contact WFYI All Things Considered newscaster and reporter Terri Dee at tdee@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @terrideeisme.