Phone scams begin again

A long-running telephone scam is once again making the rounds in Bonneville County.

The Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office said a caller will represent himself as a deputy. The caller will threaten people with a warrant for their arrest if they don’t make arrangements for using money cards to pay fines on warrants due to missing a court date or jury duty. The caller will often threaten to arrest victims if they don’t pay quickly.

The scam is quite common across the state. Fortunately, the Sheriff’s Office says the callers have not found many victims who actually lost money.

There are also renewed reports of suspects representing themselves as the Internal Revenue Service, as a family member who needs to be bailed out of jail, a compliance officer for the sex offender registry, or an internet/software provider who asks victims to log into a computer and provide personal information.

The Sheriff’s Office advises that it, and other law enforcement agencies, including the IRS, will never call to require fines be paid over the phone, in advance or through some creative means.

If you have fallen victim to a scam, make a police report.

If you have questions, hang up and call your local police dispatch to verify whether or not your county is attempting to contact you. In Bonneville County, that is 208-529-1200.