Full Notification

On March 4, 2014, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center received several calls from concerned citizens within the County of Sonoma reporting they may have been a possible victim in an “arrest warrant” scam. The citizens contacting the Sheriff’s Office reported they received a telephone call from a male who identified himself as an employee with the Sheriff’s Office using the alias names of (Brent Jones or Tommy Jones). The male caller reported to the citizens that the Sheriff’s Office had an active warrant for their arrest and in order for the warrant to be no longer active; the citizens were directed to purchase a Green Dot card at any major drug, grocery, or convenience store, and after doing so, they were directed to place a return call back to a voice mail box and leave the identification number of the Green Dot card they had purchased.

A similar scam of this nature occurred earlier this week in the Sonoma County Superior Courts. At least four citizens received telephone calls from an unidentified male directing them to pay a monetary fine to clear an arrest warrant for their failure to report for jury duty.

The Sheriff’s Office would like to warn all citizens against giving personal information or money to anyone who calls seeking payment to clear an arrest warrant and to immediately contact the local law enforcement agency in their jurisdiction.