Another Southern Tier Sheriff Office Used by Scammers

Another area Sheriff’s Office is reporting a scam where people are getting messages about the chance to buy Sheriff’s Department shirts that don’t exist.

A couple weeks after the Broome County Sheriff’s Office alerted residents that it had not opened a “merch shop”, the Tioga County Sheriff’s Office advises residents it also is not selling merchandise and has not authorized any company to sell anything representing the office.

Several residents responding to a posting by the Sheriff’s office on Facebook affirmed they had received the suspicious text messages.

The savvy residents said the number one clue to the scam was that the text was coming from a number outside the 607 area code.

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The majority of those targeted said the call was identified as coming from an 802 area code. That area code is for the entire state of Vermont.

The Sheriff’s office advises people they should not follow the website link contained in the message as it might compromise the recipient’s internet security and personal information.