The Rock County Sheriff’s Office is warning people of a recent uptick of scam calls where the caller poses as a deputy sheriff advising them that they need to call him back regarding an urgent legal matter.
In each case the caller is a male with a southern accent who claims he is Deputy Sheriff Spoden. People have reported that a message was left indicating that they need to call him back to discuss the legal matter. The calls all came from the same number which appears to be an untraceable voice over IP number likely “spoofed” from online, according to the release.
In one instance, a person answered the phone, the suspect advised a woman she missed a court proceeding and needed to drive directly to the Rock County Sheriff’s Office while staying on the phone with him for the entire drive, which would have been over two hours in length.
The release said that while deputies and investigators from the Rock County Sheriff’s Office sometimes schedule meetings over the phone, they would never require someone to stay on the phone with them while they drove.
The release said that this has happened before. Suspects have used the names of current Rock County Sheriff’s Office employees in attempts to defraud people. In this case, the name used was of former Sheriff Spoden who has since retired from office.
The sheriff’s office is asking the public to call them when a call like this or any call that seems questionable. People can call the non-emergency number for the Rock County Communications Center at 608-757-2244.
