Roger Hannigan Gilson is reporting for the Times Union that scammers pretending to be part of the Columbia County Sheriff's Office sent a mass text message the morning of February 18, as part of a phishing swindle. The texts were from the 518 area code and addressed the recipient by first name. They were then offered a $10 discount on a Columbia County Sheriff's Office T-shirt if they clicked on a link. Columbia County Sheriff's Capt. Kevin Skype said he did not know how many people received the text, and he was unaware of anyone who had fallen for the scam. Phishing scammers contact people online masquerading as someone the intended victim knows or would trust in an attempt to gain information, which can then be used to steal from or defraud them. Officials discovered a similar swindle last week, wherein county residents received texts claiming to be from the United States Postal Service. In that case, recipients are told a package has arrived, but that it will be returned if they do not update their shipping information by clicking a link. According to Skype, phishing scams are common and difficult to investigate. He said the 518 numbers could have been fake numbers generated online. Anyone who has a question about an email or text received, or been a victim of a scam is advised to contact their local sheriff's office, state police or local police department. Read the full story in the Times Union.