205 W 5th Ave Ellensburg, WA 98926-2887
Monday - Friday 8 AM - 5 PM
Kittitas (pronounced 'KITT-i-tass') County is located in central Washington State. It spans from the lush forested Cascade Mountains to the upper Yakima River Valley plains and the Columbia River.
Kittitas County, WA - 01/03/2018 - The Kittitas County Sheriff's Office responded to two fraud complaints targeting local businesses. The scammers posed as a Sheriff's Deputy. The callers attempted to extort funds by claiming they owned money to the federal courts via a summons.
The scam went as follows: The caller called into the business and knew the receptionist's name and asked to speak with the owner of the business. They identified themselves using a real Deputy's name. They stated, "Sheriff Dana just gave me this court summons that needs to be addressed." The caller ID showed a Yakima prefix. The targets stated they heard 9-1-1 dispatch type sounds in the background. After stating they were calling about the summons, they gave the following instructions: The victims were told to drive down to the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office on Umptanum Road. They told the targets to log their mileage. They instructed the targets to call them when they were on their way. When the victims called back they were instructed on how to issue money to them to satisfy the summons. The victims were instructed to use a "Green Dot" card. They were told when they arrive at the Sheriff's Office (after hours) to scratch off the "Green Dot" card to verify the funds were there. Once the money was verified the suspects stayed on the phone with the victim until they said they were at the Sheriff's Office then suspect told them a deputy will be out shortly to help them. If you receive a call like this or anyone calling saying they are from the Courts or IRS or Law Enforcement, please verify the information by contacting the Agencies they say they are representing to verify the information.
Kittitas County, from the Cascades to the Columbia, and online at http://www.co.kittitas.wa.us
###
Contact: Darren Higashiyama, (509) 933-8206