That sound clip above is actually NOT the Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office’s voice mail.
That’s a scammer, one who has been calling Des Moines County Residents pretending to be a Sheriff’s deputy, and scamming them out of money.
“He’s making calls and advising people that there is a warrant out for their arrest. He advises them that they can post a bond, at which time they decide on whether or not to post that bond, at which time the money is transferred, usually through Western Union…to his account,” explains Des Moines County Sheriff Mike Johnstone.
He says that the caller is very convincing and sounds professional.
The scam has been ongoing since last week. Johnstone says that the exact same scammer was conducting the exact same scam in Johnson County earlier this year, and moved his operation to Des Moines County after Johnson County Sheriff’s deputies and jail staff members were assigned to continuously call in and harass the scammer until he went away.
Johnstone says that the Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office will never demand money over the phone, and to call the Sheriff’s office at their real number: (319) 753-8212, if they’re ever concerned about the legitimacy of a phone call.
Johnstone also says that if you’ve been the victim of this scam, or any other scam, to contact the Sheriff’s department.
The scammer has been traced to a Verison wireless cellular phone, and deputies are working to trace the exact location of the phone with hopes of catching the scammer.
