DANE COUNTY, Wis. — The Dane County Sheriff’s Office is warning about a new scam targeting the families of people incarcerated in the county jail.
In a posting on social media, Sheriff Kalvin Barnett says the scammers are using the Dane County Jail’s “current resident” listing, which is free and open to the public, to find the names of people who have newly arrested and incarcerated.
Then the scammers impersonate a member of law enforcement to try and get the families to send bail money.
Sheriff Barnett reminds the public that the members of the sheriff’s office will never call and ask for money over the phone, nor will they ask for funds through “non traditional” means such as gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency.
Barnett also says to never disclose personal information over the phone to people you don’t know, and to contact law enforcement immediately if you think you’ve been a victim of a scam.
