Jackley
PIERRE, S.D. (Legal Newsline) - South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley and Hanson County Sheriff Randy Bartlett warned South Dakota residents on Thursday about a phone scam involving individuals claiming to be county or state officials.
The cold callers phone South Dakotans pretending to be government officials and request payment for debts owed to the agencies they pretend to represent. The caller asks the person for personal information, including social security number, credit card number and bank account number. The caller then threatens that the South Dakotan will be arrested by local law enforcement if the personal information is not immediately provided.
While the scam appears to be aimed at just Hanson County residents, Jackley warned consumers around the state to be prepared for the calls.
"Right now the calls seem to be targeting Hanson County residents, but citizens throughout the state need to be aware of these deliberate attempts to steal this personal identifying information," Jackley said.
Bartlett warned consumers not to provide their personal information over the phone unless the consumers have initiated the calls themselves. A government entity will never call a consumer asking for payment information.