BOYLE COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Harold Miller, who has a degree in computer security and helped establish one of the first internet companies in southern Oregon, received what appeared to be an official call from the Boyle County Sheriff's Office on Monday afternoon.
"You signed for a summons and failed to appear, so a judge issued a warrant for your arrest," Miller said the caller told him.
The scammers made their call convincing by using Miller's personal information, including his name, phone number and address. But as the conversation continued, Miller began noticing red flags.
"First red flag they said was don't talk to anybody else about this. Stay on the phone until we get this fixed, don't go to the courthouse we will arrest you as soon as you step on board," Miller said.
The scam became obvious when the callers mentioned payment methods.
"As soon as they started saying we need you to transfer money through a Coinbase machine. Because that's the only way they can get money that's untraceable," Miller said.
Instead of hanging up, Miller drove to the actual Boyle County Sheriff's Office while still on the call and let a deputy take over the conversation.
"The deputy asked the scammer, 'Who am I talking to?' And the guy said, 'This is Captain Anderson.' Then the deputy asked me, 'Do you want me to arrest this guy?' And I said, 'Yes, yes I do,'" Miller said.
The scammer hung up. The sheriff's office confirmed Miller had no warrants and was never summoned to court.
According to AARP's Fraud Watch Network, other common scam calls include claims about government issues, debt resolution, lottery winnings or family members in trouble.
Miller, who previously helped people get online for the first time during the early modem days, now wants to use his computer skills to educate others about spotting scams by arranging classes.
"I think people should know about these scams because the more people are aware of it, the less the scammers are going to make," Miller said.
Miller add if you have questions you can email him at Harold.p@miller.org
And if you need to report a scam you can report to the state at stop scams
