The Charles County Sheriff’s Office is investigating several reports of a scam in which someone is calling residents claiming to be a police officer and warns the person they have an unpaid red light camera violation in Charles County. The caller then tells the person a warrant has been issued and the only way the person can have it dismissed is to make a payment over the phone using a credit card. Reports indicate the caller is demanding and insists the person must pay the cost of the ticket immediately. In some cases, the caller told the person the citation was $259.76 and court costs were $238.00. In other cases, the suspect told people he would talk with his supervisor about setting up payment plans if they were not able to pay immediately. The Charles County Sheriff’s Office does not make phone calls regarding camera violations nor does the agency call anyone to make payments over the phone for any type of case. These calls are scams. Anyone who receives a call of this nature is urged to hang up immediately. Persons who believe they may have been victims of this scam are asked to call the CCSO at (301) 932-2222. For information about the CCSO Red Light Camera program, please visit our website.
Charles County Crime Solvers offers rewards of up to $1,000 for information that leads to the arrest or indictment of a person responsible for a crime in Charles County. Anyone with information about an unsolved crime or the location of a fugitive may contact Charles County Crime Solvers by calling 1-866-411-TIPS, texting CHARLES + the tip to CRIMES (274637) or submitting tips online at tipsubmit.com. All individuals who provide tips through Crime Solvers will remain anonymous. Learn more at the CCSO’s website.
The Charles County Sheriff’s Office is a full-service law enforcement agency comprised of more than 600 police, corrections and civilian personnel responsible for protecting more than 150,000 residents. The CCSO was accredited by the Commission on the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) in 2001 has been designated as a CALEA Gold Standard of Excellence agency since 2011. Established in 1658, the CCSO is one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the United States. For more information, visit ccso.us.
Media Contact
Diane Richardson
301-609-6557
richardsond@ccso.us