The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office is warning the public to be aware of a phone scam involving callers saying they are a member of the sheriff’s office. The caller tells the person they have a federal warrant for their arrest and requires the victims to forward money to the caller via gift cards to avoid being arrested. There have been several incidents reported recently involving this type of scam.

The caller was able to utilize a common phone number spoofing program in order to display the main telephone number to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office from which they were calling from. The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office does not make such telephone calls, nor will they request anyone to send money in order to avoid arrest.

This is part of an ongoing scam across the country that local and federal agencies are investigating. If you have received a similar call, been the victim of a scam or any other crime you are asked to contact the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office at (407) 348-2222.

You can also contact Crimeline at 1-800-423-8477, if you have any information pertaining to the subjects committing these scams or information on any other crimes where that information which leads to an arrest may be eligible for cash rewards of up to $1,000.