WCSO NEWS RELEASE
The Northern Nevada Cyber Center and Washoe County Sheriff’s Office would like to alert the public to a possible fraudulent scam targeting the compassion and pocketbooks of members in our community.
The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Detention Facility has seen an increase in calls by individuals reporting they were notified that a friend or family member had been arrested and needed money for bail.
These scams usually involve someone claiming to be a representative of a law enforcement agency, a friend of the alleged arrestee or someone posing as the person arrested. They often ask for wire transfers through services such as Western Union.
We encourage the public to be cautious and always verify requests such as these. The Sheriff’s Office does not accept services such as Western Union and does not notify family of arrests. Arrestees are allowed to make such notifications themselves.
Always be cautious and conduct any transactions directly through governmental agencies or licensed bail bonds companies. These services can always be verified through the phone book or other means.
To report an incident of fraud, contact your local law enforcement agency or report the incident to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
The Northern Nevada Cyber Center is a highly skilled, multi-agency investigative unit located at the Sheriff’s Office. The Cyber Center was developed to combat the rapidly growing trend of cybercrime. These crimes include fraud, child exploitation, hacking and other crimes occurring with the use of technology.
The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office celebrated 150 years of proud service and community partnership in 2011. Sheriff Michael Haley is the 25th person elected to serve as the sheriff of Washoe County. His office continues to be the only full service public safety agency operating within northern Nevada and is responsible for operating the consolidated detention facility, regional crime lab, Northern Nevada Counter Terrorism Center, Internet Crimes against Children Task Force, court security, service of civil process, traditional street patrols and Regional Animal Services.
