Here at the Norfolk Sheriff's Office, we've issued many warnings about scammers posing as NSO employees trying to scam vulnerable residents into sending them money for one reason or another.

Recently, a resident received such a message, but this time the caller didn't mention any specific threat, but simply told the recipient of the call that he had "some confidential legal matters" to discuss with them and that they should call back to a specific phone number that is NOT the one he's calling from.

You can hear the actual message HERE (Note that we've bleeped out the last name of the person who received this message and reported it to us):

Here's the transcript of what he said:

This is Lieutenant Snyder with the Norfolk Sheriff's Office making initial call for Donna (redacted). Mrs. (redacted) I need you to contact me back at your earliest convenience. I do have some confidential legal matters to discuss with you. You can reach me directly at 757-699-9153. Again, that's 757-699-9153.

The recipient of this message wisely did NOT call the number provided, but instead reported it to us. Presumably, if they had called the number back, the scammer would have tried to con them into sending him money.

Note that this phone number has NO association with the Norfolk Sheriff's Office, and was NOT the number which showed up on the recipient's caller ID.

When our Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Consumer Protection Unit called the number back, “Lt. Snyder” answered. The OIC identified himself and confronted the scammer, at which point he hung up. 

As a reminder, the Norfolk Sheriff's Office will NEVER use a phone call to request money. 

If you have received a call like this, DON'T CALL THEM BACK! Instead, please contact the Norfolk Sheriff's Office's Consumer Protection Unit to file a report.

File a Fraud Report

PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD!!!

Virginia State Police reports that fraudulent telephone scams involving police impersonation are on the rise again! 

The scammer has "spoofed" a legitimate VSP phone number with a 276 area code to appear credible.

Please hang up on this person & see the tips below on what law enforcement DOESN'T do...

Phone Scam Alert!

THE SCAM:
- Caller is very convincing & claims to be a police officer/investigator/trooper or reaches you on Whatsapp.
- Caller ID shows valid Virginia State Police phone #.
- Scammer falsely claims your identity has been stolen or you have a warrant for arrest & you need to send $$ ASAP for the charges to be cleared.
- Scammer asks for $$ to be transferred or wired to an account OR asks you to buy/send gift cards.

TRUTH:
- Law enforcement never contacts citizens by phone to request payment OR to clear arrest warrants.
- Law enforcement never requests payment by/with gift cards.
- Caller ID is not always accurate - easy to spoof a number.
- NEVER provide a credit card # or account information over the phone.
- Report telephone scams to the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov.

The Norfolk Sheriff's Office has again received reports from residents who have recently gotten a phone call and/or message from someone claiming to be from the Norfolk Sheriff's Office.

This time, the caller used the name "Sgt. Gill," and as in previous incidents, informed residents that they have missed jury duty and have a warrant for their arrest. He continues by telling the citizen that they need to pay a fine or risk being jailed.

THIS IS A SCAM.

As a reminder, the Norfolk Sheriff's Office will NEVER call asking for money and correspondence regarding jury duty is always done through the mail.

In this instance, when we attempted to call the number which showed up in caller ID, we got a message that the number was "no longer available." This could also indicate that the number which showed up in caller ID had been "spoofed."

If you have fallen victim to this scam and sent money to the callers, please contact the Norfolk Sheriff's Office's Consumer Protection Unit to file a report.

File a Fraud Report

PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD!!!