Fake sheriff’s office website shut down. Manatee deputies hunting for creator of scam

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office has successfully shut down a fake website that mirrored its own and was set up by cyber criminals to scam residents out of money.

The sheriff’s office became aware of the site on Sept. 17. Scammers were calling residents, telling them they missed jury duty and directing them to the fake site to pay fines.

On Friday, the sheriff’s office announced the shutdown of the fake site after investigators were able to track down the domain.

The hunt is on for those responsible for the scam, the sheriff’s office said.

“They are continuing to work to identify the owner of the site and the scammers involved,” the sheriff’s office said.

The shutdown comes as scammers were escalating their attempts.

“Although the site is no longer active, we have received another report this week of scammers calling citizens claiming to be an MCSO employee and leaving messages that direct the citizen to the fake site to submit payment for fines and other reasons, including providing the opportunity to ‘donate to charities.,” the sheriff’s office said.

The scammers are using names of sheriff’s office employees but provide fake call-back numbers.

“Please use caution when receiving calls from anyone claiming to be an employee of a law enforcement agency when the caller asks for payment of any kind,” the sheriff’s office said.. “MCSO deputies will never call and ask for payment over the phone.”

Anyone who is ever uncertain about the legitimacy of a phone call claiming to be from the sheriff’s office can call 941-747-3011 to verify the information.