By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
A new scam popping up in Buchanan County has the Buchanan County Sheriff's Department advising everyone to be cautious.
Sheriff Bill Puett says the latest scam he has become aware of is people using local officials' names to threaten people saying they haven't shown up for jury duty at the federal court in Kansas City.
"They're saying it's out of Federal Court in Kansas City and they're using Judge Boeh, I believe is what they're trying to use its spelled incorrectly, but of course Judge Boeh just retired and he doesn't have anything to do with the Federal Court in Kansas City," Puett tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.
Puett says scammers take pieces of what sounds like official information, running it all together into various information that is not accurate.
If you believe you have been scammed or someone has attempted to scam you, you should contact the Buchanan County Sheriff's Department.
Sheriff Bill Puett says the department has heard from a few people who already have received this scam call
"But it usually starts and then it blossoms out from there," Puett explains. "I can tell you that we run into these scams three or four times a year in a variety of different concepts, and then the other types of scams like the IRS scam and everything, and a lot of it depends on the time of year."
Puett says people should watch out for anyone calling asking for your personal information or any sort of money or gift cards to bond someone out.
"That's just crazy, law enforcement will not call and solicit your personal information and your bank card information," Puett says. "If we call and say hey somebody is here, then that person will have the obligation to come and check and do all those things."
Puett reiterates law enforcement agencies will not ask for personal information over the phone, including financial information, and the easiest way to avoid the scam is to hang up.