Scam Alert: Fake Washoe County Sheriff's Deputies Are Calling Reno Residents
This is a public safety alert. The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) is warning residents about an ongoing phone scam in which criminals impersonate deputies and other law-enforcement officials. They often spoof caller ID so the call appears to come from the Sheriff’s Office, a local police department, or even 911, and they sometimes use the real names of actual deputies to sound convincing.
The whole script is engineered to scare you into paying fast, before you have time to think.
Hear a real one
Below is an actual scam voicemail left for a Northern Nevada resident. Notice how calm and “official” it sounds. That tone is exactly what makes these calls work.
What the caller says (transcript):
“This is Sergeant [name withheld] with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office. It is important that you get in contact with me at your earliest convenience. My callback extension is [number withheld].”
The name has been withheld. It likely belongs to a real law-enforcement officer the scammer is impersonating, not the person behind the call. The “callback” number is withheld too, since spoofed numbers often belong to unrelated, innocent people.
How the scam works
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the callers:
- Claim there’s a warrant for your arrest, or that you missed jury duty, failed to appear in court, or have unpaid citations, taxes, or fines.
- Manufacture urgency and fear: pay now, or be arrested today.
- Offer a “way out”: pay a “reduced” fine or bond to make the warrant disappear.
- Demand payment in ways real agencies never use: gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, prepaid/cash cards, or payment apps.
- Spoof phone numbers and may drop a real deputy’s name, so both the number on your screen and the story sound legitimate.
The one thing to remember
Real law enforcement will never do any of this. In the Sheriff’s Office’s own words:
The Sheriff’s Office will never call and demand payment over the phone, will never request payment through gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers or payment apps, and will never threaten arrest over the phone.
If a caller is demanding payment to clear a warrant, it is a scam. Every time. No exceptions.
What to do if you get one of these calls
The Sheriff’s Office advises:
- Hang up. Don’t engage, don’t confirm anything, don’t press a number to “speak to a deputy.”
- Never share personal or financial information: no Social Security number, no card or bank details, and never a payment.
- Don’t trust the number on your screen. Caller ID is easily faked.
- Verify independently. If you’re genuinely worried a warrant might exist, contact the Sheriff’s Office or the courts yourself using an official number, never a number the caller gives you.
- Report it. Note the caller’s name and callback number if you can do so safely, and report the call to WCSO.
Official Washoe County Sheriff’s Office contacts
- Main line: (775) 328-3001
- Non-emergency dispatch: (775) 785-9276
- Email: sheriffmedia@washoecounty.gov
Please share this, especially with older relatives
Scammers deliberately target older adults and other vulnerable people, who are more likely to be caught off guard by an authoritative, urgent call. A two-minute conversation: “the real Sheriff will never call demanding gift cards”, can stop this cold. Forward this alert to the people in your life who’d be most likely to pick up and panic.
Sources: Washoe County Sheriff’s Office: Warrant Phone Scams Impersonating Law Enforcement, WCSO warns public about an ongoing phone scam impersonating law enforcement, and 2 News: Washoe County deputies warn of scam calls posing as law enforcement.
High Sierra Cyber is a Reno-Tahoe cybersecurity company sharing this as a community safety alert. We are not affiliated with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office. If you believe you’ve been targeted or have lost money, contact WCSO using the numbers above.