ST. FRANCISVILLE — The West Feliciana Parish Sheriff's Office is warning members of the public about a scam targeting families of incarcerated individuals.

Sheriff Brian Spillman, in a statement Friday, said that scammers are posing as members of his office and trying to extort money by offering fake ankle monitoring services in exchange for expedited release. The callers contact family members and claim that their loved one must pay for an ankle monitor as a condition of release.

Spillman says that the sheriff's office neither requires nor provides ankle monitoring services.

"This is another example of criminals taking advantage of people at a very vulnerable time," Spillman said. "We have confirmed these calls are originating from out of state, and the perpetrators are using online reporting tools to identify and target families of people we have incarcerated."

Spillman's office is working with state and federal law enforcement to track down the scammers responsible. 

"The bottom line is, we don’t accept Venmo, CashApp, Green Dot, or other peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers, and we don’t ask for payments over the phone," Spillman said. "Should you receive one of these calls, ignore the high-pressure threats and hang up immediately."

Anyone who believes they have been the target of a scam is asked to call the West Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Office at 225-784-3109.