SAN JUAN COUNTY, N.M. – It’s 2025, and scammers are still trying to get your money. The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office is already receiving multiple reports about one scam going around the county.

“The latest scam that’s hit our areas, we have some fraudsters that are calling our area residents, posing as members of the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, telling them that they have an active warrant, and they need to pay for that active warrant in order to avoid arrest, is what we’re dealing with right now,” said San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari. “They get onto our website, they either get a name of one of our staff members, or they’ll just make a fictitious name and just call individuals.”

Ferrari wants people to be on high alert when receiving one of these phone calls.

“I want to caution anybody that receives a phone call from somebody that is requesting money that remember the intent of the fraudsters to keep you on the phone to create panic in you, so you take immediate action and paying them,” said Ferrari. 

If you do receive a call like this, just know it will never be law enforcement.

“We do not call asking for money from anybody, especially on warrants. We do home service for warrants. We’re not going to tell you that you have a warrant, and you need to pay it. We will come to your house, and if you have a warrant, an arrest warrant, then we arrest you. But we will never ask for any type of payment over the phone,” Ferrari said. 

Ferrari provided some tips:

“Take the opportunity to get the person’s name, get their phone number, hang up. Then, call either your bank, local law enforcement, whoever it may be that that person is representing, and verify the information that they’ve been given,” said Ferrari.