Many of our citizens have reported receiving calls from a “Lt. Davis” at Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. Although there is a Lt. Davis at the sheriff’s office, this call is an impostor.
This impostor states that there is a warrant for the victim’s arrest because they missed a jury summons, placing fear in the minds of our residents. This criminal then states that the issue can be resolved if they pay over the phone, and failure to do so means that law enforcement will respond to their location for an arrest. Not wanting to get arrested, the victim follows the orders and gives the scammer personal information or gift card numbers to pay the “fine.” After the money is exchanged, the victim finds out they fell for the scam and the money is gone.
This is a reminder that Douglas County Sheriff’s Office will not call you about outstanding warrants. Most law enforcement agencies won’t call. The few that do, will NEVER threaten you or ask you to pay over the phone. They will instruct you to come to the courthouse to handle the warrant.
If you come across this scam, hang up immediately and call the courthouse or the non-emergency line to your local law enforcement. Here in Douglas County, the courthouse number is 720-437-6200 and the non-emergency line is 303-660-7500.
It is also important to realize that scammers can “spoof” phone numbers and many times these numbers pop up on your caller ID. DO NOT TRUST IT. It is perfectly OK (and even recommended) that you hang up and call those numbers above to verify the clam if you are concerned it might be true.
Remember our phone safety rules:
- NEVER give personal information to ANYONE who calls you.
- If you need to verify the story, find a true and accurate number to call back.
- DO NOT USE GOOGLE to find accurate numbers, there are just as many fake websites as there are scams.
- USE GOOGLE MAPS to find a physical building or call your Senior Resource Deputy, Ryan Falkner, at 303-663-7748, if you need help figuring out if you are involved in a scam or need help finding real numbers.