Chester County Sheriff: Be Aware of Phone Scam

The Chester County Sheriff's Office is warning county residents about an ongoing phone scam.

"There is an organized effort on the part of individuals attempting to scam residents of Chester County," County Sheriff Bunny Welsh said. "We need to inform our citizens that these calls are bogus and do not originate here in the Chester County Sheriff’s Office."

Residents are receiving phone calls from people claiming to be from the Chester County Sheriff's Office, Welsh said. In some cases, the calls appear on Caller ID to originate from the Sheriff's Office. Callers are threatening residents with arrest on bench warrants for failing to appear for jury duty.

The bogus callers are identifying themselves using the names of real Sheriff's Office employees, Welsh said.

The callers are requesting money and personal identifying information to make the bench warrants go away.

"All residents should be warned to never share sensitive information with anyone you don’t know," Welsh said. "Unfortunately there are criminals who use many types of scams and frauds to take advantage of individuals and families. We need to provide all information possible to protect our citizens.”

If you receive a call similar to the ones described, do not provide any money or identifying information, the Sheriff's Office said. Instead, contact your local police department. You can also contact the Chester County Jury Services Office at 610-344-6174.