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The San Diego County Sheriff's Department is warning the public about an arrest warrant phone scam that's going around.
According to FOX5, the phone scam was reported by six residents on Saturday, October 30.
People received a call from someone identifying himself as Lt. Hartman from a number that appeared to be the sheriff's department.
The caller informed people that they missed a court appearance and must immediately come alone to the sheriff's headquarters at 9621 Ridgehaven Court. One person who received the call said that the message sounded like it was recorded.
“This is a scam. To be clear, the Sheriff’s Department does not employ a Lieutenant Hartman. The Sheriff’s Department main office is also closed on weekends,” the sheriff's department said in a statement. “Outstanding warrants cannot be resolved over the phone or at sheriff’s department headquarters. Warrants can only be cleared through the court. People with outstanding warrants are urged to turn themselves in Monday through Friday during business hours at any one of the sheriff’s court facilities.”
The statement on to say that these types of scams exploit people's fears, "You want to be a law-abiding citizen and you surely don’t want to end up in jail, so in a panic you end up giving your personal information or money to defuse the situation.”