Officials at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center are warning the public about scammers who are impersonating jail employees and demanding money from inmates’ families in exchange for their loved ones’ release.
The scammers are obtaining personal information about current inmates and using it to pose as MDC employees when calling families, according to an alert issued by the detention center. During these calls, the fraudsters claim they can secure an inmate’s release if the family pays a fee.
The Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court issued a similar warning earlier this month about callers pretending to be court employees. In both schemes, the callers possess accurate information about inmates currently housed at MDC, potentially gathered from publicly available online booking and arrest records.
MDC officials emphasized that these calls are fraudulent. Detention center employees never contact inmates’ families requesting payment for release, and jail staff do not determine who is released from custody or when — those decisions are made by the court system.
According to the metropolitan court, any past-due court fines are communicated through official mail via court-issued summons or warrants. Payments to the court can be made online, by mail or in person at the courthouse.
Authorities are urging anyone who has been contacted by these scammers to report it immediately to local law enforcement. The MDC is also asking the public to send reports to mdc@bernco.gov so officials can follow up with targeted families.