KENT COUNTY, Mich. — ‘Tis the season for scams, and the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office says the latest one involves someone impersonating a sheriff’s captain over the phone.
Similar scams involving people pretending to be with law enforcement have popped up in West Michigan the past few years.
Since Thursday, a number of residents in the county have been contacted by a caller identifying himself as a law enforcer, in an effort to obtain funds fraudulently. In many of the cases, the caller has claimed to be Sheriff’s Captain Mark Bennett.
The bogus caller asks for money from the victim in order to clear open warrants. Police say the suspect typically asks the victim to purchase a pay card and supply the number on that card to the suspect, in order to take care of the outstanding warrant.
Captain Bennett says in a news release, “This is a fraud and law enforcement does not operate in this manner to clear any outstanding warrants.
“There are no suspects at this time, and anyone with information should call Silent Observer at 1-877-88-SILENT or to MOSOTIPS.com .
