JANESVILLE — Over the past couple days, the Rock County Communications Center reported phone calls from four citizens throughout the State of Wisconsin indicating they received scam calls from an alleged “Deputy Sheriff Spoden” with the Rock County Sheriff’s Office.

In each case, the caller is a male, with a southern accent and has left messages for some people indicating they need to return his call regarding an urgent legal matter. The calls also came from the same phone number which appears to be untraceable voiceover IP number likely spoofed from the internet.

In one instance where someone actually answered the phone, the suspect advised a woman she missed a court proceeding and needed to drive directly to the Rock County Sheriff’s Office while staying on the phone with him for the entire drive, which would have been over 2 hours in length. While deputies and investigators from the Rock County Sheriff’s Office sometimes schedule meetings over the phone, we would never require someone to stay on the phone with us the entire time and travel such great distances to do so.

This has happened in the past where suspects have used the names of current Rock County Sheriff’s Office employees in attempts to defraud people. In this case, the name used was of former Sheriff Spoden who has since retired from office.

In the event any citizens have received any recent calls similar in nature, or anytime someone receives a call where the origin and validity seem questionable, the Sheriff’s Office would like to be notified. Members of the public can call the non-emergency number for the Rock County Communications Center at (608) 757-2244.