MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Detectives in Monongalia County are warning the public about a phone scam related to an alleged arrest warrant.
Sheriff Perry Palmer said the potential scammer calls from a spoofed number telling the resident there is a warrant for their arrest. The caller then asks the resident to pay a certain amount to avoid being taken into custody.
“They’re demanding payment to avoid arrest and asking the citizen to go purchase one of these Vanilla Visas or a Green Dot card that you can put money on,” Palmer said.
Palmer said the department has never had a policy to notify wanted people via phone. Further, he said police do not collect fines of any type for any reason.
“Never, never will a police agency call you and tell you about a warrant you can pay for,” Palmer said. “Absolutely not, you’ll either get arrested or you’ll get a summons in the mail.”
The courts will accept payment with a personal check, cash, money order, VISA or MasterCard.
“The Green Dot card even says on the back- don’t give these numbers out over the phone for a scam,” Palmer said. “We’re just putting it out there again- the more people we can help the better off we are.”