(Walhalla, SC)-------------------------------------In our continuing efforts to educate and inform our citizens, and to prevent them from becoming victims of scams, the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is releasing today our February 2025 Scams Update.
A Deputy spoke with a victim who was scammed out of $2,500. The victim had met a woman through the Tik Tok social media site and continued their conversations on the Signal App. The victim stated the woman told him that her father had died and that she needed money to receive her inheritance from her late father’s estate due to the fact that she had debts to pay.
The victim was contacted by someone claiming to be the woman’s lawyer. The lawyer placed approximately $3,800 into the victim’s account. The victim then bought Apple Gift cards in the amount of $2,500. The victim took some pictures of the back of the gift cards and sent it to an attorney. The victim stated that $3,800 was applied to his account, but on the next day, that money was gone.
The victim stated that his bank account had been frozen so no more money could be withdrawn. The victim was told that he would have to pay back the $2,500 that was spent to buy the Apple Gift Cards.
“One of the greatest tools that scammers can use is to elicit sympathy from others in order to gain something from the victim” says Corporal Jimmy Watt, Public Information Officer for the Sheriff’s Office. “Scammers are professionals and they are very good at what they do, including their ability to build relationships with people they meet online. Our recommendation is never to allow someone you do not know personally or someone you meet online, to have access to your personal accounts or to give money to those persons. Also, if someone asks you to purchase any type of gift cards as a form of payment, consider this to be a scam as well, which is something we have stated previously before.”
A Deputy took a report from a person who was the potential victim of a possible Cryptocurrency scam. The victim stated that he had been working with someone online for months using Cryptocurrency. After making an initial investment, and making a small profit, the victim continued to increase his investment based upon the advice of the person he was working with online.
Eventually, his account was frozen and he was notified of fraud and/or money laundering that had been detected. He was advised that the only way to unlock his account was to pay over $100,000 in taxes. The victim gave the Deputy an amount of $2.5 million dollars that was in the account after the trades.
“In regards to any type of investments you are planning to make, we recommend meeting with a Certified Financial Planner who can discuss any investments and any risks involved,” says Corporal Watt. “We also recommend never taking financial advice from anyone you come in contact with online.”
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