The phone number for the Sonoma County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor Department has been used in a telephone shakedown scam, where a caller pretending to be a government official threatens Sonoma County residents with arrest for failure to pay fines or back taxes.
Using a practice known as “caller ID spoofing,” the scammer can deliberately falsify the telephone number and/or name relayed as the Caller ID information. This makes the source of the call appear as legitimate, while disguising the identity of the con artist.
The Sonoma County Clerk’s Office does not collect money owed to government agencies, only for services and documents requested by individuals such as certified copies of vital records, marriage licenses, or fictitious business name filings. The Sonoma County Clerk’s Office never asks for any form of payment over the phone.
If someone claiming to be from the government calls making threats such as arrest and tells you to make a money transfer or go to a store or drug store to purchase a money order, voucher or make some other type of money exchange, payment or withdrawal, do not comply.
Calls like that should be reported to Callercenter.com too! The website gets about 100 thousand visitors daily and as such, it’s the best venue to share a warning. Phone scams are prevalent so let’s keep others from falling victims to these schemes. Spread the word.