LEON COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) — The Leon County Sheriff’s Office is warning the public of on-going email scam and fraudulent phone calls that have been recently impacting our community.
LCSO says people are receiving emails that claim the sender has compromising or sensitive information about the recipient and advises them to send crypto-currency or bitcoins to a specific address listed within that email.
Many of these scam emails also include a password that the recipient currently uses or possibly an older password that was once used by the recipient.
This tends to lend credibility to the recipient that the scam email has some validity, according to authorities.
The exploited personal information originates from previous data breaches in which the user’s email and passwords were shared in online criminal networks.
Although the emails may look credible, they are not. These tactics used by criminals are known as “scare scams.” LCSO urges citizens to not send any form of monetary payment to these individuals.
LCOS is also urging individuals to not respond to any of these emails and change personal passwords to any email providers and websites.
Individuals can file a complaint to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.IC3.gov, or call (1-800- CALL-FBI) or (1-800-225-5324).
Also, in the last few weeks, LCSO has received several reports involving telephone calls from someone claiming to be a member of the Leon County Sheriff’s Office.
The caller requests money for court fees and states failure to do so will result in a warrant for their arrest.
LCSO says no member will ever contact anyone and request payment for a warrant or court fees over the telephone.
Please contact the Sheriff’s Office at (850)606-3300 with any information regarding these types of telephone calls.
Here are some tips for avoiding being a victim to this fraudulent activity:
• Do not respond to texts, emails, or calls requesting money for personal information extortion or legal fees.
• Do not take telephone calls from unknown numbers or robocalls. Scammers will use these calls to obtain more personal information.
• Delete emails and do not respond to any requests for personal information from an unknown source.
