Woman loses $1,800 to scammer impersonating Lancaster County Sheriff’s deputy

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - Lincoln Police are urging residents to be wary of phone scams after a woman lost $1,842 to a caller impersonating a Lancaster County Sheriff’s deputy.

On Saturday, a 38-year-old woman told police she received a voicemail from an unknown caller pretending to be a sheriff’s deputy who said she failed to report for jury duty and now owed $1,842. The woman followed the instructions provided by the scammer and made the payment.

LPD said the phone number the scammer used is not a working number and the case remains ongoing.

Chief Deputy Ben Houchin with the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office said people have lost up to $25,000 in scams similar to this.

“Every other week we end up getting people falling for these scams,” Houchin said. “They will even go to our websites and obtain deputies names.”

Houchin said the sheriff’s office will never ask anyone to go a store or purchase any kind of card.

To report a scam, call the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office at 402-441-6500.

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