Sheriff warns public of ongoing phone scams in Cortland County

CORTLAND, N.Y. — The Cortland County Sheriff's Office is investigating several phone scams that have been reported in the area.

One phone scam involves a caller posing as a relative who is in jail that needs bail money. The other con involves the caller posing as kidnappers who have kidnapped a family member in an attempt to collect ransom money.

In both cases, the caller asks the person to wire transfer money to them. A similar scam was recently reported in the village of Homer, with the caller posing as a representative from National Grid.

The sheriff's office advises those who receive such a call to not give out any personal information over the phone or internet.

"Do not confirm your identity unless you know who you are speaking to," a statement from the sheriff's office read. "Scammers can pose as well-known businesses and people."

Any resident who has received such a call is asked to contact the sheriff's office.