ST. LANDRY PARISH, La. (KLFY) -- There's another phone scam making its rounds. This time, scammers are pretending to be with the St. Landry Parish government and tricking people out of thousands of dollars.

According to St. Landry Parish President Jessie Bellard, scammers have been calling from phone numbers or caller IDs that appear to be from the parish government.

"Somebody's calling, using the parish government's phone number and scamming people to pay money for stuff that is not true," Bellard said.

Bellard said local officials received a call from a woman who claimed to be scammed out of $7,000.

"She was told to go to a place in Lafayette, deposit the money there, and she wouldn't have to go to court over some issues. None of that was true," Bellard said.

Bellard said that if residents get a call from 948-3688, or any parish government phone number, to keep in mind that it is not actually a call from the St. Landry Parish Government.

"We would never call you and ask you to come pay money for anything. Especially in the court system, you have to come to court and do everything in court..." he said. "So, the parish government is not going to be calling you for any type of money."

Bellard said scammers have also been impersonating a local law enforcement officer.

This recent method used by scammers is similar to others reported in the past several months in nearby parishes. Scammers call pretending to be law enforcement, utility services, or other officials to pressure residents into paying money to avoid jail, court, or having their utilities disconnected.

If anyone receives a call that they believe is from a scammer, hang up and notify local law enforcement.

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