Gage County Sheriff Warns of Recent Phone Scam

The Gage County Sheriff's Office recently received a report of a sophisticated phone scam and is warning the public to be cautious when dealing with unknown callers. On Wednesday, February 19, 2025, a resident of rural Liberty received a phone call at 10:48 a.m. from a suspect who stated he was a police officer in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and that his daughter had been arrested after being involved in a motor vehicle accident and a pregnant female in the other car had lost the baby due to the accident. According to the Sheriff's Office, the victim did not notice at the time that call came from a local phone number with a 402 area code. Suspects reportedly called back at 11:04 a.m. and one of them posed as an attorney, “Michael Rivers,” using a phone number from a 281) and who allowed them to speak with their “daughter.”According to the sheriff's office, “When the victim talked to the female suspect, he said she did not sound the same and she told him her nose had been broken in the automobile accident, which sounded plausible at the time.” The suspect said the bond was $220,000.00 and asked if the victim could come up with that amount of money. The victim said he could and went to Security First Bank in Beatrice to withdraw $22,000.00. He was to call the suspect back after he withdrew the cash, and they would tell him how to get the money to them. Fortunately, the assistant branch manager at Security first spoke with the victim and convinced him this was a fraud, and they were able to contact the daughter who confirmed she had not been arrested.Sheriff Millard Gustafson warns, “The suspects often play on emotions and will ask for secrecy or make threats of arrest and jail time. Do not fall for these ploys. Speak with a trusted financial advisor, such as a banker or accountant, another family member, or call law enforcement to speak with a deputy or an officer.”

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