If “Deputy Davis” from the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office calls and informs you that he can make legal violations disappear for a fee, don’t fall for it – it’s a scam.

That’s the message that the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office had this week after it was reported that somebody presenting themselves as a member of the agency has been calling county residents and claiming that for a fee – paid through untraceable gift cards – they’ll make the violations go away without a trace.

“Never give out personal information or send money to anyone you don’t know,” the agency said in a release announcing the scam. “No one from the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office will ever call you and demand money in any for or for any reason.”

The announcement comes amidst an uptick in scam calls that are starting to take on all of the markers of legitimate calls. While Caller ID initially allowed people to determine whether a call was coming from the right place, modern software allows spammers to mask their number and change it to whatever they want it to be – even law enforcement offices.

Earlier this month a man had more than $800,000 worth of cryptocurrency stolen from him after he unknowingly game a scammer the access code to his iCloud account because he thought that the call had originated from Apple.

In order to prevent from falling victim to such scams, the sheriff’s office recommends asking to call back to verify if what they are being told is true – and then hanging up and calling the respective agency the person on the other end claims to be representing. The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office dispatch number can be reached by calling 209.468.4400 and selecting Option 1.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.