Lang
7/6/24
The Muscatine County Sheriff’s Office is issuing a warning about scammers contacting residents while pretending to be deputies.
According to a Friday post on the sheriff’s office’s Facebook page, a woman arrived at the patrol office while on the phone with a man claiming he was Muscatine County Deputy Austin Sink. The male hung up before actual personnel from the sheriff’s office could speak with him. The man told the woman she had charges for not appearing for a federal subpoena and had a cash bond. A text message showing the Muscatine County dispatch number (563-263-6055) was included with the attempted scam, and the caller knew Sink’s badge number.
An area law enforcement officer contacted the real Deputy Sink a few days ago about a similar situation, indicating someone had called a relative of theirs saying they were him. The sheriff’s office says this is an ongoing issue with their office being used repeatedly in attempting to get victims to pay cash in lieu of charges or jail time. Real names and spoofed phone numbers associated with the office are being used. Officials say residents should not provide any information and should not agree to meeting or paying any individual.