Residents are warned to NEVER give out their personal information over the phone unless you initiated the call and you know who you are talking to.

Residents are reporting calls from the 306 area code (Vancouver, Washington) where a recorded voice indicates the IRS is filing a lawsuit against “you” and to call another number back immediately to find out more. You should not be confused and think you initiated this call. It is not the IRS. It is scammers, criminals. They will request your personal information such as name, date of birth, social security number, etc. If they get that far they will request your banking information such as routing number and account information, credit card number and the three digit security code on the back. Again, never give this information out to anybody over the phone.

If you have given this information out in the past and have not fallen victim to identity theft yet, consider yourself lucky. But you may not be out of the woods yet. Identity thieves often sell or trade this information amongst themselves, so it may just be a matter of time.

If you have found yourself to be a victim of identity theft, contact your local law enforcement agency. Victim information and assistance can be found with the Identity Theft Resource Center (www.idtheftcenter.org).

On a related note, the Sheriff’s Office often receives calls from county residents asking whether a solicitation call they received is from us and is legitimate. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office DOES NOT do phone solicitations. That is not to say that a call received from ‘such and such Sheriff’s Organization” isn’t legitimate, just know that it is not us doing the call and any money you donate is probably not going to local causes. Ask questions. Ask them to send you literature before donating. Know who you are sending your money to and what it’s for.