A scam that features a caller threatening people with arrest unless they pay fines related to a phony warrant has been reported in Cheyenne.

Cheyenne Police Department spokesman Officer Dan Long says the caller claims to be a Laramie County Sheriff's Department Deputy or Corporal and uses the name Jacobson.

The intended victim is told they must pay a fine using a pre-paid gift card, which Long says is in itself a red flag since no law enforcement agency would ask for payment by that method.

Long says the calls have been placed from (307) 231-0461, but he adds that by using computer software the scam artist may be able to have a different number show up on the caller ID. Long says local residents can always find out if they have a warrant by calling the Laramie County Sheriff's Department at (307) 633-4740 or the county Dispatch Center at (307) 637-6525.

The phony warrant scam is not a new one and has been reported around Wyoming and the nation. The con artists in some of those cases have been known the use the names of actual officers to make the call seem legitimate.

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