NEW PHILADELPHIA (Tusco TV) - Tuscarawas County’s sheriff is advising residents not to trust anyone asking for money over the phone after someone claiming to be from his office scammed a Millersburg woman out of thousands of dollars.

Sheriff Orvis Campbell says the victim was told that she owed more than $11,000 in back taxes that needed to be paid immediately or she would be arrested. Campbell says the woman did not realize she was being scammed and settled the debt over the phone in gift cards. 

“Then, they provide the number, and they scratch off the number on the back and provide that over the phone and they’re told that their delinquent taxes or fines or whatever it may be for the phone call is paid." 

Campbell says it's easy even for educated people to fall for these types of scams because the callers can be very convincing and they even have technology that can make it appear as though the call is legitimate. He says it's always a good idea to call the actual agency to find out if the person is who they claim to be. 

“You always have time to call in, check with the dispatch center from us or your local police department, or if it’s the IRS they’re claiming, call the IRS. Call whoever. Take five minutes to verify it. We’ve had a lot of people lose money. We’ve had numerous victims over the years that lost over $100,000. It’s something that we’re really concerned about and hope that people really heed our warning and pay attention and be suspicious,” he says.

Campbell says people should always be suspicious if someone asks them for money over the phone, even if they claim to be from a government agency.

“What we want to remind the public of is that no form of the government, not local, not state, and not federal, will not ever call you and demand money over the phone. In fact, if a judge has issued a warrant, it is a court order to arrest you and it wouldn’t matter how much money you gave me. You still have to go to jail, so paying over the phone will not get you out of that.”

TUSCO TV