DAYTON, Ohio — If Montgomery County residents receive a phone call from what seems to be a sheriff's office employee, officials say it may not actually be one. 

Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck said there are have been several of these scam calls, and the impersonators try to make residents give substantial payments for fake reasons. 

The scam callers say the residents have failed to appear in court or have an urgent legal matter to address, and then they threaten the residents with arrest unless they make payments through certain platforms, like PayPal, Apple Pay, money orders or more. 

Streck warned the scammers are also using caller ID spoofing to make it look like it's coming from the sheriff's office. In most recent scam calls, they've been posing as "Director Russell" from the sheriff's office.

“These scammers can be extremely convincing,” said Streck in a release. “They exploit fear and confusion to pressure people into compliance."

Streck said the sheriff's office will never call to demand a payment or threaten arrest for unpaid fines, warrants or missed court dates. 

“We want residents to know this is a deliberate tactic by these criminals to make their schemes more believable,” Streck said. “Always verify the authenticity of any call, and don’t hesitate to reach out to your local police department to report suspicious activity.”