TUCSON, Ariz. — "There were warrants out for my arrest because I did not show up for court to testify as an expert witness."
Someone claiming to be an employee of the Pima County Sheriff's Department said that to Katie Klein when she called the return number.
"They talk a good talk, in the beginning, they really instill fear," Klein said.
That fear, she said, was effective enough for her to stay on the line for three hours.
"He says that he can't hang up with me if he does they're going to send out cops to arrest me."
Klein said they were demanding she pay $3,000, bail money for their phony charge.
Klein said she went to multiple banks, going as far as getting cash advances on her credit cards, ready to pay her scammers.
"By the end of this whole ordeal, yeah, I had $3,000 cash."
Before handing over the cash though, Klein said she reached out to her colleagues, while staying on the line with her would-be scammer.
"She started saying that she had heard of something like this, then she apparently was talking to some other people at the same time, was kind of texting me more details," Klein said.
She said she hung up and immediately called 911.
"We're not going to ask you to send us money," said Deputy James Allerton, of the Pima County Sheriff's Department.
"If someone legitimately owes money for a warrant of something like that, it's through the courts, it's not through the sheriff's department."
Allerton said his staff are made aware of when their names are used in scams like this.
He advises anyone who suspects they're being scammed to contact the sheriff's department.
He said you can ask for the person who called you and confirm with them if they're actually trying to get ahold of you.
All incidents like this, Allerton said, are reported to federal investigators.
