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Local law enforcement has been receiving an increasing number of calls from people who have been contacted by phone by someone claiming that they are with law enforcement.
The scammer will advise the victim that they are with a local or federal law enforcement agency and tell the victim that they have a warrant for their arrest. The scammer will then continue, advising the victim that they have to make payment to have the warrant quashed (dismissed).
In the most recent calls, the scammer has claimed to be from the Island County Sheriff's Office or the Oak Harbor Police Department, and will often use the name of real officers in these departments. The scammer will also often times have a good deal of personal information about the victim to help legitimize the call.
LAW ENFORCEMENT WILL NOT CONTACT YOU VIA PHONE AND ADVISE YOU THAT YOU NEED TO PAY A FINE TO HAVE AN ARREST WARRANT DROPPED OR ASK YOU FOR A CREDIT CARD NUMBER OR ONLINE PAYMENT TO PAY A FINE.
In some cases law enforcement and/or the courts may contact a person by phone to advise them of an arrest warrant. If they do, they will advise you to turn yourself into the the courts or the local jail, they will not ask for payment.
If you are contacted by someone claiming to Law Enforcement and you are suspicious of the call :
Tell the caller you want to re-call them through the local dispatch center. Hang up and call the dispatch number (not 911) and ask to speak with the officer that just called you. For the Island County Sheriff's Office, Coupeville Marshals Office, Oak Harbor Police Department and Langley Police Department call the ICOM dispatch center at 360-679-9567. If they caller is really law enforcement and on duty the center can put you in touch with them.
During normal business hours you can also call the business number for the Agency the caller claims to work for to help validate the call. Do not however always rely on the caller ID number or a number left on a message to validate the call.
If the call becomes threatening, hang up immediately and call 911.
People will sometimes ask, what if I really do have a warrant for my arrest? Well...if you actually have a warrant for your arrest, and law enforcement has your telephone number and address, the chances are very good that they will not call you, they will show up to where you are, with proper identification and take you into custody on the warrant, not take payments to make it go away.
If you have received one of these scam calls, please write down the phone number the call came from, the officer's name and agency if provided, and the details of what they said/asked for, then call the ICOM dispatch center to file an informational report. We are tracking these calls and would like to know about them.
You can also read more information about these scams at the Federal Trade Commission web site:
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/scammers-impersonate-police
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