Marathon County Sheriff’s Office Warns of Phone Scam

MARATHON COUNTY, WI (OnFocus) – The Marathon County Sheriff’s Office would like to make residents aware of a telephone scam in which residents receive a phone call from someone claiming to be from the Sheriff’s Office. The scammer identifies themselves as an employee of the Sheriff’s Office and spoofs the phone number they are calling from so it appears they are calling from the Sheriff’s Office.

The caller tells the residents that they have a warrant for their arrest, and then asks them to go to an ATM to withdraw money or to purchase gift cards.

It’s important to note that the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office will not call people by phone and ask for payment of fines or forfeitures in the form of cash from an ATM or gift cards.

If you receive a phone call from someone who claims to be from the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office or Marathon County Government, and you suspect they are not, we recommend that you ask for the person’s name, department, and phone number and tell them you’ll call them back. You can verify the phone number by using the phone directory on our website at https://www.co.marathon.wi.us/Government/PhoneDirectory.aspx. Scammers often spoof phone numbers so it looks like they’re calling from an official entity. However, if you verify the number and call back, it will ring in the correct location instead of the scammer’s phone.

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