Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Department investigating reports of scams

January 10, 2022

SIOUX FALLS, S.D.–Two recent scams to report out of Minnehaha County.

Last Friday, there were two reports of identical scam calls being made. One call happened early in the day, another one later. The scammer or scammers claimed to be from the Minnehaha County  Sheriff’s Office, and told the victims that they had missed jury duty, and that they had to each pay the Sheriff’s Office a specific amount of money or be arrested.

Using PayPal and a debit card, one of the victims paid $1,000 while the other paid $2,000.

Sergeant Rob Forster notes that the Sheriff’s Office will never call and demand money for missing jury duty. If citizens receive a similar call, they should call the agency that the caller claims to be with and verify everything with that agency.

On Sunday, a Sioux Falls resident who had been in the process of buying a home received a scam email from a fake title company asking for a $47,000 down payment as part of the victim’s closing and down-payment fees.

The victim did not recognize the email as fraudulent and sent the $47,000 to the scammer. Forster notes that citizens should verify the origin of emails and make sure that any electronic documents being sent or received are secure.

Police are working with the victim to try and get their money back.