BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Kern County Sheriff's Office is warning the public about a phone scam targeting Kern County residents.
People are reporting that they are receiving phone calls that appear to come from KCSO. The calls come from what looks like the sheriff's office public phone number, and there are even reports of the caller using the names of active KCSO personnel.
These are scam calls. KCSO does not handle Court Order Civil matters over the phone and will never ask for money or personal information.
Some red flags to watch for if you suspect a call to be a scam include callers who will not clearly identify what organization or business they are calling from, and requests or demands for money, especially via gift cards or online money transfer services like CashApp. Also, if someone demanding money over the phone says you must pay now, insists they must keep you on the phone until a payment is processed, or becomes threatening or aggressive, it is very likely you are dealing with a scammer.
The best thing you can do to protect yourself from phone scammers is to hang up. As soon as you realize you're speaking to a scammer, end the call immediately. If you have concerns that the call may have been legitimate, you can initiate a call to the the business, organization, or office the caller claimed to represent and ask about the call.
KCSO urges anyone who receives suspicious phone calls they believe to be harassing or a scam to contact their office at (661) 861-3110 or use their online reporting tool to report the incident.
