Police are warning citizens about a telephone scam that attempts to extort money from unsuspecting individuals  

#SCAMALERT: The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office is warning citizens about a telephone scam that attempts to extort money from unsuspecting individuals by claiming they have a warrant for their arrest. The callers claim to be DEA officers, notify the victim of a supposed arrest warrant out of Texas and demand they pay a fee. The caller directs the victim to purchase gift cards from a local store and then provide the them with the control numbers. Unfortunately, two citizens have recently fallen victim to this scam, losing $3,200 between them. In this particular scam, the callers were able to spoof the sheriff’s office phone number, making it appear as though the call originated from within the agency.