The following is a press release issued by the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office:
On 08-20-2021 the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office was notified by the Willits Police Department of a reported fraudulent telephone scam received by a City of Willits resident.
This telephone scam is in no way associated with the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office and has no legitimate law enforcement purpose.
The telephone scam was reported to be from a caller who is posing as Sheriff’s Sergeant Clint Wyant. Upon establishing contact, the caller told the resident there was an arrest warrant issued for them as the result of missing jury duty.
This fraudulent information is used as a scam to pressure a person (recipient of the call) to provide personal identifying information for identity theft purposes or to demand payment through such things as credit card, gift card or money order transaction.
The public is urged against engaging in this fraudulent telephone scam and should immediately report any such behavior to their local law enforcement agency.
In an effort to combat identity theft during this type of telephone scam, please do not provide any personal identifying information over the telephone to include social security numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, or your personal address.
It is also important to refrain from sending any type payment to the caller as directed.
