Who:
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
Investigative Operations Bureau
-Economic Crimes Unit

What:
Detectives are encouraging the public to be on alert to a recent phone scam occurring in Pinellas County.

When:
Detectives were first notified of the phone scam on Friday, September 20, 2019.

Where:
The suspect is calling residents located in Pinellas County.

Why/How:
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office detectives are encouraging the public to be on alert to a recent phone scam occurring in Pinellas County. The suspect is calling residents in Pinellas County and identifying himself as Captain Brian Browne with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

According to detectives, the suspect may know the name or a family members name and address of the person being called. The suspect identifies himself as a Sheriff’s Office Captain and informs the citizen that they have an outstanding warrant. The number being provided by the suspect is (727) 431-9465 and the suspect provides an email address of pcso.judicial@mail.com as a means to contact him. The suspect tells the citizen that they need to send money to avoid being arrested. 

Detectives say there have been multiple incidents where Pinellas County citizens have been targeted using this scam.

***Please note: The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office will never call citizens requesting money over the telephone. Detectives advise citizens to not give personal information or account information over the phone, and call the Sheriff’s Office to report suspicious activity.  

In previous phone scams, suspects have instructed the citizen to go to the nearest store to purchase gift or pre-paid debit cards. The suspect would instruct the citizen to provide the numbers on the back of the card and claim that the warrant will be purged from the system once the money is paid. 

If anyone has information on this scam or has become a victim they are asked to call the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office at (727) 582-6200.

The investigation continues.