The Cuyahoga County Department of Consumer Affairs and the Office of Child Support Services are warning noncustodial parents of a child support scam.
A robocall tells noncustodial parents they are behind on child support payments and threatens to send police to their homes, according to authorities. The call instructs the listener to call a 216 number.
The Office of Child Support Services said it learned about the scam from clients who received the call.
The Department of Consumer Affairs said scammers might also use other tactics such as pretending to be sheriff's deputies, process servers or court officials to try and scare someone into making an immediate payment.
Scammers often ask for payment with retail or online gift cards because those are harder for law enforcement to trace, but government agencies do not accept these forms of payment.
If you think you owe money, you should contact the agency directly. Child Support Services can be reached at 216-443-5100.
Questioning calls concerning money should be reported to the Cuyahoga County Department of Consumer Affairs at 216-443-7035.
