Press release from Lt. Mike Fridley of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

Today the Sheriff’s Office has received several calls from citizens reporting a person claiming to be Lieutenant McDonald with the Sheriff’s Office. The telephone number associated with the most recent scam is 707-210-5889. The caller claims the scam victims have a warrant out for their arrest. The victims are then directed to obtain a Green Dot card from Safeway or Walgreens, and pay the warrant fine over the telephone. Additional victims have been told to meet the Lieutenant outside the Sheriff’s Office to pay the fine.

The Sheriff’s Office will never ask you to pay a fine over the phone or through a money card. Nor will the Sheriff’s Office ask you to meet an officer outside the courthouse.

I called the number listed and for some reason “Lieutenant McDonald” didn’t want to talk with me once I identified myself.

The public is urged to call 445-7251 if they believe they are the victim of a scam.