05/08/2025
Please be aware of a scam that is circulating in which a fraudster leaves a voicemail advising their intended victim to contact a specific person at the Collier County Sheriff’s Office. When the victim calls the number left by the fraudster they are connected with a recorded phone menu that sounds legitimate and provides options to be connected to various departments in the agency. The goal is ultimately to engage the intended victim and obtain personal identification information from them.
This scam can take on many forms to include people impersonating the IRS, your bank, utilities and other legitimate organizations. The fraudsters may claim you did not report for jury duty, have a warrant for your arrest, claim you are in contempt of court or failed to pay a traffic citations.
If you receive a voicemail like this look up the organization’s actual number and call it to verify the information you received in the voicemail. In addition to leaving voicemails for potential victims, we are receiving reports that these scammers are also contacting people via text message. Regardless of how these messages are received, they are scams.
For assistance with any suspicious encounter involving a request for money or personal information, contact the Collier County Sheriff’s Office’s Call Before You “Pay” hotline – (239) 252-CALL (2255). The hotline is staffed by a CCSO deputy in the Financial Crimes Bureau between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
