CRIReporter.com

Posted from: http://www.times-standard.com/breakingnews/ci_19593127

Sheriff's deputies are warning the public to be cautious after two residents reported receiving fraudulent phone calls on Tuesday evening.

A Cutten resident reported that she had received a phone call at about 8 p.m. from a man identifying himself as Mike Bishop with a Healdsburg phone number of 707-385-9251, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office. The caller told the woman that he was a “repo agent” and threatened to repossess her car if she failed to send him money.

When the resident asked the caller to tell her which vehicle he was going to repossess and asked the caller more questions, he became angry and rude. The victim hung up on the suspect who called three more times demanding money. He quit calling after the resident told him she was notifying law enforcement, according to the sheriff's office. The resident tried calling the number listed on her caller ID and received a message stating they had reached a “Pinger number.”

At 9 p.m., a Humboldt Hill resident reported a similar complaint to the sheriff's office, stating that the suspect threatened to repossess the victim's vehicle unless money was sent. But the suspect could not describe the vehicle or give information on the agency he worked for, according to the sheriff's office. At one point during the conversation, the suspect allegedly threatened to assault the resident unless money was sent. The call originated from the same number as the first complaint,Advertisement
according to the sheriff's office.

According to the sheriff's office, a “Pinger number” is an application for iPhone and Android-based cell phones. It allows customers to obtain a free anonymous phone number to text and make calls from.The sheriff's office would like to remind the public to ask questions of callers and not take callers' claims on face value. They would also like to remind residents not to give out their personal information over the telephone.