Officials said the scammers would call victims and tell them that buying drugs over the Internet is illegal and that legal action would be taken unless a fine was paid.
In one incident, a victim in Camarillo was told to pay a $5,000 fine. During the phone call, the scammer told the victim how to pay the fine and said that failure to do so would lead to an arrest for illegal drug trafficking by the DEA.
Officials said people should be aware that no DEA agent or law enforcement officer will ever call members of the public by telephone and ask for money to be paid for a violation of the law.
Anyone who wants to report a crime should call (877) 792-2873.
