GLOUCESTER COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) — Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office has received multiple reports over the past few weeks of people scamming residents by phone in an attempt to secure money.
The two callers identify themselves as Tonya Jones calling from 215-437-1233 and Lo Fama calling from 215-438-1211. When they call, they claim to be law enforcement officers from El Paso, Texas.
The callers tell the person on the receiving end that they have an arrest warrant for the victims and that their social security number was used for money laundering and check fraud.
Deputies say that the victims were told if they did not take money out of their account, they would be arrested. The callers tell the victims that they can “come to El Paso to handle the situation or handle it locally,” officials said.
One of the victims told deputies that they received a phone call from an individual identifying himself as “Sheriff Darrell Warren” — who is the current Gloucester County Sheriff.
The caller allegedly told the victim that their money would be seized if they did not pay $1,500 and to pay, the victim was told to purchase government vouchers. They were unfamiliar with this process and bought three gift cards.
Deputies also said in a statement released that the targets of these crimes appear to be elderly individuals.
The Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office says they will never solicit any form of money or payments from any citizens over the phone. If this occurs, they recommend you hang up immediately and contact the sheriff’s office at 804-693-3890 with any information from the call.
Incidents can also be reported on the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.