Western Massachusetts Authorities Warn Community of Court Date Scam

Scams continue to be part of everyday life, unfortunately. It doesn't matter whether you live in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, or anywhere; nobody is safe from becoming a victim of scams. The best thing you can do is get ahead of the scam and protect yourself before falling victim to identity theft and financial hardship due to stolen credit card and bank account information.

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A Missed Court Date Scam is Circulating in Western Massachusetts

Another scam that is happening specifically in the Berkshires has to do with an individual calling people, informing them that they missed their scheduled court date, as a way to swindle money from the caller. Here's what the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office had to say per its Facebook Page:

The Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office wants to make the community aware of an ongoing scam that was reported today by our staff through multiple phone calls. An individual is contacting some within the community who is calling to inform them that they have missed their scheduled court date and have a warrant for their arrest. The caller is identifying as Sergeant Kyle Richardson of the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office. This individual is looking for money, $2500.00, in return to clear the warrant and are requesting payment through various online services. This individual also spoke to one of our lieutenants at the facility today and became confrontational with our lieutenant over the phone because they didn’t like being called out on their scam tactics. Please do not engage and simply hang up. Please continue to be safe and healthy Berkshire County!

READ MORE: Massachusetts Warned The Most Common Scam in America is Growing

As stated by the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office July 10th Facebook post, the best thing to do in this case is just hang up the phone. If you get a call, text, email, or voicemail, etc., and something seems fishy, hang up the phone or delete the message, but don't engage any further.

How to Report Scams

If you want to go a step further and help protect others in the community from being scammed, you can report scams to the Federal Trade Commission by calling (877) 382-4357 or by going to the FTC's official website.