Cleveland County sheriff warns of phone scam

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- The Cleveland County Sheriff's Office is warning residents to be aware of a phone scam from people claiming to be relatives in need.

Sheriff Joe Lester says a woman was recently called by someone in Virginia who said he was a relative and needed bail money to get out of jail.  Lester says the woman was called shortly afterward by someone else asking for money to cover the relative's legal expenses.

The sheriff says the woman was able to determine that none of the callers' claims were true.

The sheriff's office says anyone receiving such a call should hang up and should not send money. If someone needs to check if a relative is really in jail, he or she can call that detention facility to find out.