Sheriff warns of scams; one preys on family members of deceased veterans

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office is warning the public about two scams that have recently surfaced in Kootenai County.

The first is a phone call one may receive from a recorded message stating it is coming from the Kootenai County Jail and asking people to call back and provide credit card information for an account for an inmate or a telephone account. The number commonly used as the call back number is 866-516-0155.

"No one from the Sheriff’s Office will be calling you and no auto-dialer from the Sheriff’s Office will call asking for credit card information," said Sheriff Ben Wolfinger, in a press release. "According to an Internet search, this scam has been active throughout the United States since 2009."

The second one preys on family members of recently deceased veterans. The callers identify themselves as being from an office of military benefits. The common story is that the recently deceased had a life insurance policy for a substantial amount of money, but the payments are in arrears. The caller will ask the family member to remit a check for several thousand dollars to bring the life insurance policy up to date. The number used locally as a call back number for this office is 800-772-1233.

This too is a scam. The callers are taking information from obituaries in local newspapers and on line.

"Please remember the old adage: 'If it is too good to be true, it probably is,'" said Wolfinger in the release. "Don’t be a victim of these people who will try to steal from you through fraudulent means."