The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office wants to make county residents aware of a recent imposter scams in which criminals impersonate a government official, a law enforcement officer, business, court, or a trusted friend or family member to trick victims into sending money.
A new form of the scam we’re seeing is con artists — posing as a collection entity for the Livingston County Courts or the Sheriff’s Office — sending an e-mail to their intended fraud victim. The e-mail advises the recipient they have a fine due to the court and must make an immediate payment.
Within the email there are multiple areas where the person receiving the email can click a link and pay the bogus fine.
Emails and telephone calls can be very convincing and are geared to intimidate victims into paying bogus fines or emergency bonds or be threatened of arrest. Law enforcement and the courts will never contact you via e-mail or telephone and ask for cash or gift card payments.
Don’t click on strange “links” you receive via email, and use these tips to avoid possible fraud and phishing attacks:
• Asking for Personal Information is a Red Flag!
Few (if any) websites, banks or businesses will ask you for confidential personal information, or financial information, in an e-mail
• Check the sender’s e-mail address
• Watch for links and attachments
• Typos are a red flag
• When in doubt, contact the supposed e-mail sender
• Install security software, be smart about passwords and ALWAYS know who you are sending money to.
