Scam Caller Representing as Sheriffs Deputy

In the afternoon on Wednesday, January 25th, 2017, the Sauk County Sheriff's Office was made aware by a concerned citizen that they had received almost a dozen phone calls from a male with a middle eastern accent attempting to solicit personal information. 

The citizen reported that the caller represented himself as either Deputy or Officer Whaler of the Sauk County Sheriff's Department, and allegedly threatened the citizen with arrest. It was reported that the caller ID on the recipients phone showed phone number 356-4895. 

That phone number does belong to the Sauk County Sheriff's Office, but it appears that the caller is causing that number to show on caller ID when it is not the number the call is coming from, commonly referred to as "Spoofing". 

There is no Deputy of the Sauk County Sheriff's Office with that name and no other Deputies were attempting to contact the citizen caller.

This is a well used scam, done in an effort to obtain personally identifiable information or money by ruse by claiming that the caller is a member of the Sheriffs Office, which he is not.

If you receive a phone call from a person who is requesting personal information or payment of some sort and are unsure as to their real identity, do not provide any information or funds to them until their information is verified. 

In this case, calling the non-emergency number of the Law Enforcement Agency that the caller claims to be representing to verify the identity of the caller and that they are in fact attempting to contact you would be appropriate.

These types of scams are becoming more and more prevalent, and citizens have to be alert and cautious when receiving these calls. A simple internet search of "phone scams" will yield helpful information for future reference.

Chip Meister

Sauk County Sheriff