ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Stearns County residents are being warned about a phone scam that sounds awfully familiar - for good reason.
The sheriff's office says it has received multiple reports from people saying they have been called by someone claiming to be a Stearns County sergeant. The caller requests personal information, legal documents and other data, sometimes using intimidation and telling the resident they need to comply in order to deal with past-due, unpaid fines.
"These calls are fraudulent and are aimed to illicit your personal information or money," sheriff's officials say in a news release. "All the (residents) correctly called our office directly, where we were able to confirm the calls were in fact a scam."
The methods used by the fraudulent callers in Stearns County are extremely similar to a scam recently that targeted residents of Burnsville. Callers there used the name of an actual sergeant on the Burnsville Police Department.
Anyone in Stearns County who is targeted by scammers is asked to immediately call the sheriff's office at 320-251-4240.
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