For the Rapids City Times

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – Wood County Sheriff’s Department has been alerted to a new scam in which individuals are impersonating a Wood County deputy to scam people out of money.

The Wood County Communications Center has received numerous reports from individuals receiving phone calls from a person claiming to be a Wood County deputy.

The individual states that there is an active warrant, or they are in violation of probation or other registration requirements. They then instruct the recipient of the call to go to a local store, such as CVS or Walgreens, and send money to have the issue resolved.

A press release from the Wood County Sheriff’s Departments said, “A law enforcement officer will never ask for any type of payment in this manner. Payments for any type of legal procedure should be made in person, or if over the phone only when you call a number that you know to be that of a government agency. You should never send any type of payment when you receive an unsolicited phone call.”

For more information, or if you fear you have provided personal information to an unauthorized person, please call the Wood County Communications Center at 715-421-8701 or your local law enforcement agency.