(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 September 2024 Scams Update.
Financial Crime Investigators from the Criminal Investigations Bureau have been notified of a scam in which threats have been made via e-mail.
In the e-mail, the scammer has notified the victim that they have placed Spyware on the victim’s phone in order to monitor the victim’s activity on their device. Also, the victim’s have been notified that the Spyware has given them access to everything, including the victim’s e-mails, contacts and social media accounts.
In one instance, the scammer knew the physical address of the person they were attempting to scam. The scammer demanded payment in Bitcoin through a link in the e-mail. If payment was not made, then the scammer threatened to share information with the victim’s contacts.
“The e-mail that one of our Investigators received contained grammatical errors, and sometimes that can be an indication of a scam,” says Master Deputy Jimmy Watt, Public Information Officer for the Sheriff’s Office. “Also, if someone requests payment from what could be considered an unusual method, it could also be an indicator of a scam. If you receive this type of e-mail, do not click on any links, send any payment or make any contact with the sender of the e-mail. Notify law enforcement immediately and do not erase any e-mail’s or delete anything you have received.”
A Deputy spoke with a citizen who stated that they received a call from someone who claimed they worked for the FBI. The caller stated that the citizen was a part of an investigation involving a cartel. The citizen was notified that her social security number, credit card and Apple card were compromised.
The citizen was instructed to take approximately $15,000 out of her bank account and then to go to an ATM. The citizen asked the caller for law enforcement to accompany her; however, the caller denied her request. The citizen was told that she could not be trusted and that she would be arrested.
The citizen did not provide any personal identifying information nor did she suffer any financial loss.
“We continue to be notified of law enforcement related scams,” says Master Deputy Watt. “As we have stated previously, if you receive a call from someone stating that they are a law enforcement officer, and they are requesting payment in order to have a warrant recalled or have charges dropped, it is a scam. Law enforcement will never order or encourage someone to go their bank, withdraw money and then deposit that money into an ATM.”