CANYON CITY — Grant County Sheriff Todd McKinley is warning residents there have been multiple recent scam calls being received in Grant County that are from numbers being “spoofed.”

This is where the caller can make the call look like it comes from a legitimate number, such as the Grant County Sheriff’s Office or the Oregon State Police, McKinley said in a news release.

The caller, McKinley said, will then say you have committed a crime of some sort. Usually the caller will say a package was intercepted somewhere, but the caller will be able to take care of it if you send them money, the sheriff said.

“Do not send them money,” McKinley said.

Another scam, he said, is where the caller claims they are from a cartel and that you have not paid for services from their escorts and they are going to hunt you down if you do not pay. They then send threatening photos and messages and documentation that they know where you live, according to McKinley.

McKinley advises people to not send these callers money.

Instead, he said, that a screenshot of the messages and phone numbers, and report this to your local law enforcement agency.

“Please, use some common sense in these instances,” McKinley said. “If you are getting contacted from an official-looking number and the message or call does not appear official, do not respond to it and contact the authorities before interacting with them.”