Police warn of scammer attempting to collect fines, issuing warrant threats

ST. GEORGE – Police are warning of a new scam reportedly circulating in Washington County.

Thursday, the St. George Police Department issued a fraud alert on the SGPD Facebook page, stating they have received reports from citizens that a “male claiming to be ‘Deputy James Marshal with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office’ is calling residents and saying a warrant will be issued if the resident doesn’t pay a fine immediately,” according to the press release.

Police have emphasized this is not how the warrant system works and that a phone call of that nature is a scam.

Anyone receiving such a phone call, no matter what name is used by the caller, is urged to call the Police Department immediately to verify the information.

An additional notice went out to businesses that are still receiving calls claiming they owe utility payments.

“This is also a scam and, if you are worried, you should immediately call the St. George Utilities office and verify the status of your account,” the press release said.

Residents are urged not to make any payments to these people, no matter how much pressure the caller puts on them.

Resources

  • If you receive a call you believe is a scam, contact the St. George Police Department at 435-627-4300

Related posts

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2014, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

5 Comments

  • My Evil Twin December 5, 2014 at 8:46 am

    There is just no end to these types of scams. Because there is just no end to the suckers who fall for them. You have to protect yourself, nobody else is going to do it. Don’t deal with inbound calls regarding money. Period. Whether they claim to be collection agencies, some form of government, or a charity. The ones that really irritate me are the ones calling supposedly representing charities for whatever disaster happens to be flavor of the day.

  • Triggerguard December 5, 2014 at 8:54 am

    I believe in safety

  • Fred December 5, 2014 at 9:35 am

    If they were smart the scammers would say they were from Code Enforcement. Oh wait a minute, Code Enforcement is already scamming enough from us. They don’t need competition.

  • Noodles December 5, 2014 at 10:53 am

    Maybe if they said that 10 percent of your fine goes to cover the cost of obamacare more people would send them money

  • lucy December 8, 2014 at 1:40 pm

    I certainly agree to calling the utility company, using a different phone, to verify the status of account. Be warned that phone scammers can now fake the phone number that appears on the recipient’s caller ID and mislead people. This https://www.callercenter.com/blg/articles/spoofing-caller-ids/ is where I learned all about it. So be vigilant everyone. Remain skeptical and practice healthy skepticism.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.