Advanced Scam Targets Ocean County Residents via Calls and Texts

Area Code Alert: Avoid Answering Calls from These Numbers in New Jersey

Advanced Scam Targets Ocean County Residents via Calls and Texts

Along with many other law enforcement agencies across the nation, the Ocean County Sheriff's Office is raising awareness of the most recent wave of phone scams that target vulnerable groups and how con artists are becoming more skilled.

According to Ocean County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy, "they target a lot of senior citizens." "Obviously, Ocean County has a sizable senior citizen population."

In an effort to inform the people of Ocean County, the sheriff's office shared an example of a combined call and text scam strategy on Facebook.

The false arrest warrant paper in the text portion of the scam is personalized with the resident's name. The caller demanded thousands of dollars in cash over two outstanding warrants for "Failure to Appear," claiming to be a captain from the Ocean County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff Mastronardy cautions that they would never discuss a warrant over the phone or over text. A deeper examination reveals that the phony paperwork is also lacking certain items.

Sheriff Mastronardy remarked, "So there's no phone number, right?" How can you get in touch with them?

The sheriff's office advises locals to contact their office or the local police before taking any action if they are unsure.

The sheriff stated, "The bottom line is that you have to use common sense." "The courts aren't looking for you if you didn't do anything illegal." According to him, con artists are conducting their own research, even looking through court records and obtaining the names of those who've been to court and taking officer's names directly from the website. Use Caution.