For the Tomahawk Leader
LINCOLN COUNTY – Several individuals have been targeted by a scam caller claiming to be with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
According to a post on the Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page, several calls from “concerned citizens” were received on Thursday, Sept. 26, reporting that they had received voicemails from an individual claiming to be a “Sergeant Johnson” from the Sheriff’s Office, who said he wanted to speak with them about a case.
The caller ID showed a phone number of 715-201-8853 in both incidents, according to the post.
There is no Sergeant Johnson employed by the Sheriff’s Office, and the phone number is not associated with the Sheriff’s Office, the post said.
The Sheriff’s Office noted that the phone number is “is likely a spoofed number that is not originating from the 715 area code at all.”
“If you receive a call from that number and/or from someone claiming to be ‘Sgt. Johnson’ from our office, please ignore it,” the Sheriff’s Office stated. “If you happen to be on the receiving end of an actual legitimate phone call from our office and you are questioning whether or not the call or the person you are speaking with are legitimate, you can hang up on your end and call us back on our main number at 715-536-6272 to verify the call/caller’s authenticity.”