New scam impersonating YCSO and threatening to arrest locals

A new scam is frightening many locals by threatening to have you behind bars if you don’t pay up.

Typically, when people see a random number from out of state, they hit decline, assuming it’s some type of funny business.

This time, scammers are calling Yuma residents from a 928 area code impersonating the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office ( YCSO ).

YCSO said they’ve received several reports of a local phone number calling people, and when they answer, a deputy comes on the line, who claims there’s a warrant out for your arrest.

YCSO’s Public Information Officer, Alfonso Zavala , said, “Usually at that point, [the scammer] will request a Green Dot or some kind of form for you to go down to purchase a card, and then call back to give them your information.”

The scammer will ask for anywhere between $500 to $1,000.

Luckily, Yuma locals are not easily fooled by this and are spreading the word around social media.

Zavala said YCSO has yet to have anyone fall victim to this scam.

However, people should know that if you are in trouble with the law, YCSO won’t be ringing your phone.

“If you do have a warrant, you’ll be notified through the court system that there’s a warrant or you’ll have a deputy or police officer knocking on your door,” Zavala said.

If you do receive a call of this nature, please report it to your local law enforcement.

YCSO is keeping track of the different numbers being used to run these scams.