DAYTON — Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck Sept. 13 announced that there have been several phone call scams that have been circulating throughout the community and he is sending out a warning to residents to be cautious.

There are phone calls being made to residents where the caller presents themselves as a “Lieutenant Green” claiming to be from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

The caller tells the resident that they have a warrant out for their arrest due to a missed court date or other legal issue and may go as far as sending a counterfeit document to bolster their narrative.

Residents are then asked to go to specific Bitcoin and/or Cryptocurrency ATMs near their home address where they can deposit the funds to avoid arrest.

Fraudulent callers have even been known to clone phone numbers to appear legitimate on the incoming caller ID. Often, the phone number may appear to be coming from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, while in fact, the phone number has been spoofed.

“These scammers can be very convincing and while in hindsight it may be easy to blame the victims, please keep in mind that these ruthless scammers are very successful at targeting people from all walks of life and age groups,” said Sheriff Rob Streck.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office never calls residents and threatens arrest for unpaid fines, warrants, missed court dates, etc.

Residents who may receive calls such as these should hang up and report it to their local police department.