March 20, 2025—The Canyon County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) has recently received several reports in which citizens were defrauded of money by a phone scam. The citizens reported they were told they had missed a court date and a warrant would be issued for their arrest if they did not pay a fine over the phone. The phone number contacting them is (208) 454-7510, which is a CCSO office number. However, the number is “spoofed,” meaning that the call comes from a different number, utilizing software to make it appear as though it is a CCSO number.
The scammer will typically use the name of CCSO personnel they have found through internet searches. The scammer then tells the victim that to avoid having a warrant issued for their arrest, they must remain on the phone and travel to ATMs and/or Bitcoin kiosks to transfer thousands of dollars to an account number provided by the scammer.
Please know that neither CCSO nor any reputable law enforcement would place phone calls advising citizens when a warrant is issued for their arrest. Additionally, neither CCSO nor any other law enforcement agency would demand citizens pay a fine or fee over the phone to avoid arrest.
If you or someone you know has fallen victim to this or a similar scam that has not yet been reported, please notify law enforcement immediately or report the fraud online to the Idaho Department of Finance or reportfraud.ftc.gov.
As always, be vigilant with your finances. If you receive any suspicious call from someone claiming to be law enforcement, please hang up and call the listed number for that agency to verify that you are, in fact, speaking to a legitimate law enforcement official.
Additional resources to assist individuals who have fallen victim to this type of scam or similar crimes can be found at www.consumerfinance.gov and finance.idaho.gov.