Autumn Raulerson
ECB Publishing, Inc.
As scamming becomes more and more prevalent in our everyday lives, the method of trickery becomes more sophisticated every day. There has been a new scam warning in our area for the last three months. These scammers pretend to be calling from local law enforcement and try to make the victim pay money for some legal issue.
The local sheriff’s department usually has one or more investigators dedicated to investigation of fraud, though difficulties stall progress since most of the scammers are from out-of-state or even international callers.
According to a scam alert from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO), “Typical victims are simply trying to ‘do the right thing,’ [and are not] naive or in any certain age/wealth/education demographic,” although past alerts have pointed out the particular vulnerability of seniors to these bad actors.
The older generation is the most vulnerable to these kinds of scams, but anyone is a possible target. Most people don’t even realize they’ve been scammed until after the money is sent.
The tale spun by these imposters is one that targets everyone – they inform the intended victim that they have a federal summons for them and need to pay money to avoid prosecution. The scammer will then advise that if money isn’t paid, a warrant will be issued for the victim’s arrest. They may try to make you go to your bank or a kiosk machine to deposit money. This is a scam.
Your county’s sheriff's office would never call you asking for money. There are processes and check-ins for things like warrants and payment to courts. It wouldn’t just appear out of nowhere one day from off the radar.
These scams are recurring, and seem to have no end in sight. There has been a new or modified version of the sheriff’s office scam every month this summer. These scammers are vigilant, so you must remain vigilant as well.
There are a few ways to protect yourself from scam calls. If an agency or business contacts you, immediately hang up and call the verified number for that business to verify. Never share personal information or account details, including passwords, to individuals you do not know. Conversely, don’t allow unknown people access to your devices, whether it be in-person or remotely. You should never transfer money on your computer or mobile device to someone you do not know. Don’t click any links or codes that are sent to you or verify or agree to anything without contacting the company or agency first. Review all of your accounts regularly for any suspicious or unauthorized account activity. Remembering these rules can save you financial issues down the road.
If you believe you have been a victim of a scam of any kind, call your local sheriff’s office and report as much information as possible, so investigators can use that information to alert the community to any potential scam risks. You should always tell local law enforcement if you believe you were possibly the victim or intended victim of a scam. It can happen to anybody, so everybody should be alert.