During the month of November the Hemet Station of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said several incidents were reported to authorities of a potential phone scam/fraud.

The unknown suspects are targeting mainly the elderly with threats of arrest if they do not send money to pay for a warrant or a failure to appear. Since most of the victims have never had any prior contact with law enforcement, they are eager to prevent being arrested. The suspects have identified themselves as “Agents of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.”

The Sheriff’s Department would like to warn the public of these types of phone scams/fraud that increase around the holidays. Neither the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department nor the Riverside County courts will call citizens asking for money.

Never send money to anyone unless you are confident of the recipient. Anyone with information about these incidents is encouraged to call Investigator Porrazzo at the Hemet Sheriff’s Station at 951-791-3400.

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