CRESTVIEW — Even caller ID is vulnerable to scammers these days.
A recurring ploy involves someone calling locals to say there’s a warrant for their arrest and they must pay money or a deputy will take them into custody.
But now, scammers are taking the ploy one step further, spoofing a phone number directly associated with the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office.
A Shalimar resident said while at work earlier this month she got a phone message indicating the call was coming from phone number 651-7400 — an actual OCSO dispatch number.
The voice message indicated the Sheriff’s Office was calling because it has a warrant for her arrest. It gave a return phone number with a 678 area code.
When the local resident called back, a woman on the other end identified herself as an attorney with “Attorney Network." The woman said there was a warrant for arrest in reference to loans at various banks.
The recipient of the call, however, said she had not taken out any loans in recent years. She recognized it was a scam and did not give out any personal information.
Instead, she reported the ploy to the Sheriff’s Office.
The OCSO is investigating this latest scam.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Latest scam spoofs sheriff's office number