The Brown County Sheriff’s Office issued the following press release Thursday afternoon:

Sheriff Hill would like to advise the community of a scam that is plaguing our community. Unknown persons will call members of the community and identify themself as a Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy. The caller will tell them that a court date was missed, and an  arrest warrant has been issued. The caller will tell the person to stay on the phone with him the entire time. The caller will instruct the person to withdraw money from the bank to pay a fine or be arrested.

The caller will instruct the person to go to store that has a Coinstar or similar machine. The caller will instruct the person how to
deposit the money and to purchase Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Many times, the caller will tell the person that the amount deposited will not cover the fees and have the person return to the bank for more money.

Sheriff Hill wants the community to know that no one from the Sheriff’s Office will ever call and ask for any type of money. Deputies do not collect money for fines and that is handled through the appropriate court. No one will ever call and ask for anyone to make a payment to any type of cryptocurrency machine.

If you have received a phone call like this, it is a scam. Please contact your local authority and report the scam.