(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 October 2024 Scams Update.
The Sheriff’s Office was notified of a scam in which the victim initially received a phone call in which the caller ID identified the call as potential spam. The victim ignored that call but received another call from someone claiming to be from Spectrum who offered the victim a refund of $250.00.
The victim provided the caller her social security and debit card numbers. After looking at her checking account information, the victim discovered that she had a negative balance in her checking account.
The victim contacted Spectrum, who advised her that they had not called and it was a scam. The victim cancelled her debit card and notified the Sheriff’s Office. The victim was also advised to contact her bank directly in order to explain what happened.
“As the Sheriff’s Office has previously stated in previous scam updates, our recommendation is that you should not provide any personal identifying information or financial account information to anyone who cold calls you, even if they claim to be calling from a business or agency that you have a relationship with,” says Corporal Jimmy Watt, Public Information Officer from the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office. “The business or agency you have a relationship with already has that information. If you initiate a call to them, they may ask for certain information in order to verify who you are. The difference in those circumstances is that you have initiated the contact and they are trying to verify who you are in order to protect you. Also be aware of any offer that sounds too good to be true, especially from anyone who cold calls you or you did not initiate the contact.”
The Sheriff’s Office received word of another law enforcement scam. A victim told a Deputy that someone, who identified themselves as a former Sheriff’s Office employee, contacted her and told her that she had missed jury duty and that a warrant had been issued for her arrest. The victim said that the caller knew her personal identifying information, her address, her phone number and the name of her spouse.
The victim was also told by the caller that officers were in the area and she could be arrested at any time. The scammer would not let her end the phone call and the victim was instructed to pay $3,000. The victim ended up transferring approximately $2,000 via bitcoin.
Afterwards, the scammer hung up and the victim realized she had been scammed. The victim contacted her bank in order to cancel the transaction.
“As we have said in previous scam updates in regards to law enforcement scams, a law enforcement officer will not accept, nor ask, for any money in order to have a warrant recalled or to drop charges, for any reason. If someone calls claiming to be law enforcement calls, and demands payment to have any charges dropped, automatically consider this to be a scam,” says Corporal Watt. “Also, if someone requests payment in an unusual form or method, consider this to be a scam as well.”
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