Beware: Atlantic County, NJ, Scam – Sheriff’s Department Hoax

We have just been made aware of a telephone scam that is currently taking place in Atlantic County, New Jersey.

A man is calling Atlantic County residents and he’s posing as Atlantic County Undersheriff Brian Lee.

We have listened to a recording of a phone call. It is clearly not Undersheriff Lee on the phone call.

The phone call goes like this:

The individual announces that they are "Undersheriff Brian Lee,” who goes on to tell the person that they have been found guilty of a crime and they are told to pay a certain amount of money … or, a police patrol car will be sent to pick you up and take you to prison.

We’re protecting the identity of our source, who shared with us that his wife was left in tears from the encounter.

Scam perpetrators like this look for a certain portion of their targets to agree to pay the money.

This is an easy scam to fall prey to, because it’s scary to receive a phone call which threatens that you will be taken to prison if you don’t pay the requested money.

A confidential source shared with us that Atlantic County residents have been scammed out of more than $ 750,000.

Atlantic County Sheriff Joe O’Donoghue advises that anyone who receives a telephone call such as this should hang-up the phone immediately and do the following:

Call the Atlantic County Sheriff's Office, ACSO directly (609) 909-7200 or call your local police department directly. Never give out personal or financial information to unsolicited callers, including: account numbers, social security numbers, date of birth, passwords or other identifying information, said O’Donoghue.

SOURCES: Confidential source and Atlantic County Sheriff Joe O’Donoghue.