Office of Inspector General Renews Phone Scam Warning

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In the May 2024 edition of the Clerk’s Report, Collier County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller Crystal K. Kinzel issued a strong warning to residents about fraudulent phone scams targeting members of the community. Since that advisory, the Clerk’s Office has ramped up efforts to combat these scams through public outreach and education.

We have hosted multiple community events and released information to inform residents about the tactics scammers use and how to avoid becoming a victim. These initiatives reflect the clerk’s commitment to public safety and transparency, and they underscore the importance of staying informed in the face of new scam attempts.

Since January 2025, the OIG has received 12 formal complaints related to these scams, with a noticeable spike in incidents reported in April and May. Like last year's reports, the complainants were told that they had not reported for jury duty, had a warrant out for their arrest, were in contempt of court, or failed to pay a traffic citation.

The scammers demanded between $500 and $10,000 from the victims, who were told they could pay in cash or through an electronic payment application like Zelle. In almost every report, the fraudster had an apparently authentic phone number show up on the victim’s caller ID. The phone number may be a ‘spoofed’ number, which means the number is not coming from the number being displayed, and the call is really coming from a completely different number that is not visible to the victim. Other victims reported the calls coming through with blocked numbers.

When some victims caught on to the scam and tried to hang up, the fraudster convinced them to be transferred to an alleged supervisor to confirm the violations. In other instances, the fraudster used real Collier County Sheriff’s Office employees’ names and badge numbers, or an actual Collier County judge's name, to convince the victim that the violations were real.

Residents are advised to be wary of caller IDs and to never give personal or financial information over the phone to a stranger. Please remember that the clerk’s offices will never call to demand payments. If you encounter any suspicious calls, please report them immediately.

Here are some tips to follow to avoid being a victim of phone scams

• Avoid answering calls from unknown numbers. Callers can leave a message, and you can choose whether to return their call.

• Don’t give personal information over the phone if you don’t know or trust the person.

• If someone is pressuring you to act quickly in sending money, hang up.

• Ask a relative or friend about the situation. If it seems too good to be true, or you feel intimidated, call someone you trust to examine the information.

• Call the Collier County Sheriff’s Office hotline, Call Before You “Pay” at 239.252.CALL (2255). The hotline is staffed Monday-Friday by a member of the Sheriff’s Financial Crimes Bureau.

Clerk Kinzel’s Office of Inspector General can be reached at 239.252.8412 or through the 24-hour confidential hotline at 844-ClerkIG (844.253.7544). Alternatively, you may submit a complaint online at collierclerk.com.