The DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office is again warning residents about a scam in which callers impersonate law enforcement officers or court officials and demand money from family members of people who have been arrested.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, multiple DeSoto Parish residents have lost significant amounts of money to the scheme over the past several months.
The scam typically begins with someone calling and claiming to represent the Sheriff’s Office, another law enforcement agency or the court system. The caller tells the victim that a family member has been arrested and money must be paid to secure their release, post bail or have an ankle monitor removed.
Officials emphasized that the calls are scams and residents should not send money.
What can make the scheme particularly convincing is that the family member identified by the scammer may actually have been arrested. According to the Sheriff’s Office, scammers may monitor radio traffic and search the internet and social media for information that allows them to identify and contact relatives.
The Sheriff’s Office also addressed concerns about how scammers obtain personal information, stressing that the agency does not provide family members’ contact information to callers.
The inmate information the Sheriff’s Office is required by law to publish on its inmate roster does not include family members’ names, telephone numbers or home addresses. Officials said scammers are locating that information independently through publicly available sources.
Residents who receive a call from someone claiming to represent law enforcement or another government agency and requesting money are advised to hang up immediately. They should then independently locate the agency’s legitimate telephone number and contact it directly to verify the situation.
Verified contact numbers for DeSoto Parish law enforcement agencies are also available through the DeSoto Sheriff App under the “Contact Us” section.
The Sheriff’s Office is asking residents to share the warning, noting that similar scams are occurring across the country and have already resulted in financial losses for families in DeSoto Parish.