Scam artists have started working overtime with the beginning of the new year and law enforcement officials are warning area residents to be on guard.
Fannin County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Sergeant J.K. Davenport said last week numerous citizens have reported someone identifying themself as a deputy has called saying they must pay a fine because they have failed to report for jury duty. The caller demands money be sent in the form of a gift card or a deputy will come and place the unsuspecting victim under arrest.
“No one here will ever ask you to send them a gift card or money in any form,” Davenport said.
Many other previously used scams are also coming back around, he said.
These include a caller pretending to be a relative, most often a grandchild, saying they need money to get out of jail. Another scam artist, or the same one, posing as a bondsman or attorney, comes on the phone and tells the victim how to send the money with a gift card.
Some scam artists will call, tell their target he or she has won a prize, but must send money in order to claim the prize.
Investigator Brad Mathis said one recent report came from a family member of someone in jail who had been told they needed to send money to buy their relative an ankle monitor so they could be released from jail.
Another report involved a man whose wife had just passed away. He said he received a call saying his wife’s Paypal account had been hacked and money was needed to fix the problem.
Bitcoin scam artists are also making calls. Once you give them Bitcoin, that money is gone forever, investigators say.
“Scam artists will try anything to cheat you out of your hard earned money,” Davenport said. Part of their tactics include keeping the victim on the phone while the victim makes arrangements to send the money demand.
The investigators said the callers most often target older residents.
While they could not pinpoint exactly how victims are selected, they agreed that scam artists search Facebook for clues, looking for people who name children and especially grandchildren.
Davenport urged anyone receiving a call they believe to be a scam to hang up and report it to the sheriff’s office.
In the past, banks and Tri-State EMC have reported scam artists trying to cheat people out of money pretending to represent them. They, too, say to hang up and call whoever the scam artists pretended to represent.
Bank officials also remind their customers they will never call and ask for personal information over the phone.