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Palm Beach County's Clerk and Comptroller is warning about a new wave of text scams in which fraudsters impersonate law enforcement officers and pressure people into paying legitimate traffic fines through Zelle.
Mike Caruso, a former State Representative, says his call center has received nearly 30 scam related reports since Monday. At least two people were contacted by scammers using the same phone number and were told to send money through Zelle to resolve their cases.
The callers were falsely claiming to represent either the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office or the Jupiter Police Department.
The Clerk's office stresses that it does not accept payments through Zelle and doesn't use G-Mail accounts to communicate with the public. Law enforcement also does not contact people to collect fines.
Caruso says when in doubt, don't give your info out and if you have a question about whether a payment request is legitimate, call his office first at 561-355-2996 before sending money.
You are also urged to block and report calls or texts from the following number 561-412-4186.