Financial Crimes Unit

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Financial Crimes Unit (FCU) is responsible for investigating felonies such as fraud, scams, forgery, identity theft, embezzlement, and various other white-collar crimes. 

Recently, MCSO FCU has observed a dramatic surge in frauds and scams including criminals impersonating law enforcement and/or government officials and threatening victims for financial gain.  These frauds and scams are mostly targeting senior citizens.  Therefore, MCSO is spearheading an educational campaign to prevent elder abuse and target fraudulent schemes by collaborating with our strategic federal and local law enforcement partners to increase public awareness and address the growing threat of frauds and scams which are negatively affecting the residents of Maricopa County. 

Fraud and scam awareness refers to actively educating the public about different and common types of frauds and scams.  This website discusses frauds and scams involving gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, and the use of couriers; as well as assisting members of the public to recognize deceptive practices such as law enforcement and government agent imposter scams, romance scams, spoofing and phishing scams, grandparent scams, fake online tech support scams, and investment scams, to help identify potential threats and protect members of the public from willingly giving away personal information or money to malicious groups or individuals.  This website also provides ways to identify frauds and scams as well as prevention tips to avoid becoming a victim.

 

WHY DO FRAUDS AND SCAMS WORK?

Frauds and scams work because they exploit human psychology by creating a sense of TRUST, URGENCY, and/or FEAR, often by impersonating trusted entities, offering seemingly too-good-to-be-true deals, or playing on EMOTIONS like greed or sympathy, which can lead people to make impulsive decisions without thoroughly verifying information.  Scammers are OPPORTUNISTS!  They are HORRIBLE people who do NOT care about what happens to you.  They will purposely harm you and simply move on to the next victim.

 

MCSO EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN

The MCSO Financial Crimes Unit (FCU) regularly participates in public awareness events, complete with a PowerPoint presentation and handouts from federal agencies, showing how to avoid becoming a victim of frauds and scams.

If your community would like to learn more about how to avoid being a victim of frauds and scams, please contact your local Law Enforcement agency.  If your community falls within the jurisdiction of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, please contact the MCSO Community Outreach Division to set up a presentation by the MCSO Financial Crimes Unit.

Via Email: cat@mcso.maricopa.gov 

Via Phone: (602) 876-1508

Via Mail / In-Person:  

 3325 W. Durango St.

 Phoenix, AZ 85009