MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about a new fraud scheme targeting family members and friends of people incarcerated at the Monterey County Jail in Salinas.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, scammers are calling relatives of incarcerated individuals while posing as Monterey County Sheriff’s Office employees and offering supposed early-release options in exchange for payment.
Sheriff Tina Nieto said in a statement, “Our agency has been made aware that family members of persons who are currently incarcerated at the Monterey County Jail are receiving phone calls from persons identifying themselves as employees of the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.”
The Sheriff’s Office said callers have told victims that due to “overpopulation at the jail,” incarcerated individuals could be released by paying either a $1,200 bail with an ankle bracelet and subsequent weekly payments of $200, or a flat $1,800 payment for release with a watch monitoring device.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the callers instruct victims to make payments at local pharmacies or retail establishments, claiming the jail’s payment kiosk is out of service.
Sheriff Nieto said the claims are false.
“Monterey County Jail does not have an early release program, and we will never request payment of any type to be made at local retail stores for any reason,” Nieto stated. “It is likely that scammers are looking at the public jail log which contains the names of people incarcerated at our jail and are then targeting family members in an attempt to steal their money.”
The Sheriff’s Office said no financial losses have been reported so far, though officials believe multiple scam attempts are underway.
“This message is being put out to alert the community of this new scam,” Nieto added. “It is especially important that we let our more vulnerable and senior family members know so that they do not get taken advantage of by these individuals who are attempting to steal their money.”
Anyone who receives a suspicious call is advised to hang up and contact the Monterey County Jail directly at 831-755-3700 to verify the legitimacy of the call.
