SWEETWATER COUNTY — On Tuesday the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office and Sweetwater Scam Alert issued an advisory warning of a “jail bail” telephone scam currently circulating.

Sheriff Mike Lowell explained that the criminals making the calls are “spoofing,” that is, masquerading as someone else by falsifying the phone number that appears on the recipient’s caller ID.

The scammers, pretending to be a friend or relative, are calling their intended victims and claiming that they have been arrested – usually on DWI charges – and need bail money in order to be released from the Sweetwater County Detention Center in Rock Springs.

“They are ‘spoofing’ the Detention Center’s actual number to help make their swindle more believable,” Lowell said. “The call appears to be coming from the Detention Center, but, of course, it isn’t.”

The recipient is instructed by the “friend” or “relative” to call an attorney at a number they provide to arrange bail.  The phony “attorney” then directs that the person send the bail money – usually thousands of dollars – via a reloadable debit card.

“The number the scammers are providing for the bogus “attorney” has a ‘375′ area code,” Lowell said.  “That is the country code for Belarus in the former Soviet Union.  If you fall for this swindle and send the money, the chances of law enforcement recovering it are virtually zero.”

Lowell makes the following recommendation for those receiving such calls:

If you are telephoned by someone claiming to be a relative or friend in custody at the Sweetwater County Detention Center who needs bail money, hang up and research the situation by calling the Detention Center yourself at (307) 352-4900 and making inquiries. If the person actually is an inmate and you wish to post their bail, ask the Detention Center about the procedure.

For more information on this and many other fraud schemes, visit the FBI website at https://www.fbi.gov/scams- safety/fraud .