NATCHEZ — Multiple callers reported a phone scam using names of deputies of the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, a sheriff’s spokesman said Thursday.

The callers, Lt. Cal Green said, tell their potential victims that the sheriff’s office has a bench warrant out for failure to appear in federal court, and that they must purchase and pay for bail.

“We’re trying to tell people: First of all, we don’t serve federal bench warrants,” Green said. “Some people just get so afraid when someone calls them and says that they’re the law or an authority.”

Green said seven people have called in reports of the scam so far, and that a majority of the targets were dental offices.

“Whoever it was, they were apparently targeting dentist offices in the Miss-Lou area,” Green said.

The scammers have targeted at least two dental offices across the Mississippi River, Green said.

Using deputies’ names in the call, Green said, lends a sense of legitimacy to the claim, making the con all the more believable.

Green cautioned residents not to give out any personal information over the phone and not to purchase any money transfer cards such as Green Dot or Money Pak over the phone or at the direction of others.

“If someone calls you with something like that, please do not send them a dime,” Green said. “Contact law enforcement and let us know.”

All phone call scams, Green said, are handed over to the attorney general’s office for further investigation.