PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office want residents to be on alert after a recent phone scam, where a man is suspected of calling Pinellas County residents and identifying himself as a PSCO employee.
PCSO said a Pinellas County resident claimed the suspect left a voicemail identifying himself as Sergeant Christopher Hall. When the resident called the suspect back, deputies said they were transferred to a second suspect, who identified themself as Lieutenant Paul Ellison. The second suspect told the resident they had an outstanding warrant and instructed them to send money via Bitcoin or Zelle to take care of the warrant.
According to PCSO, the suspect was calling from the local number (727)354-4454, and could possibly be spoofing their number to make it look like the calls were coming from (727)582-6200, the main number of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said the will never call citizens requesting money over the telephone. Psco wanted people to know they do not advise citizens to give personal information or account information over the phone.
Anyone with any information on this scam is asked to call the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office at (727) 582-6200.
