Beware of Scam: Fraud Alert for Collier County

Published: Updated:
Credit: Collier County Sheriff’s Office

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office wants the public to be aware of a scam that is circulating and misrepresenting the law enforcement department.

Fraudsters will call and leave a voicemail for the intended victim, advising them to contact a specific person at the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.

Once the target calls the number left by the fraudster in the voicemail, they are connected to a pre-recorded phone menu that sounds legitimate and provides options to be connected to various departments in the agency.

The goal is to engage the intended victim and obtain their personal information, warned CCSO in a Facebook post.

This scam can have many forms, including impersonating the IRS, your bank, utilities and other legitimate organizations.

CCSO encourages people to look up the organization’s actual number and call it to verify the information they received in the voicemail.

For assistance with any suspicious encounter involving a request for money or personal information, contact the Collier County Sheriff’s Office’s Call Before You “Pay” hotline at 239-252-CALL (2255). The hotline is staffed by a CCSO deputy in the Financial Crimes Bureau between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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