Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
-Patrol Operations Bureau

PINELLAS COUNTY – The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office is encouraging the public to be on alert to recent phone scams occurring in Pinellas County. The suspects are calling residents in Pinellas County and identifying themselves as a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office employee.  

According to deputies, a suspect called a citizen and identified himself as “Captain Somers”. After identifying themselves as a fictitious Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office employee, the suspect informed the citizen that they have two outstanding warrants due to missing jury duty. The suspect told the citizen that they would need to pay $3,000 through Zelle or Venmo to settle the issue.

The suspect called from (727) 614-8182. There have been multiple incidents recently where Pinellas County citizens have been targeted using this scam.

PLEASE NOTE: The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office will NEVER call citizens requesting money over the telephone and will never ask for banking information to wire money. We advise citizens to not give personal information or account information over the phone and call the Sheriff’s Office to report suspicious activity. 

If anyone has information on this scam or has become a victim, they are asked to call the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office at (727) 582-6200.