Phone scams on the rise, as residents lose lots of cash - Walterboro Live

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Getting a call that is an scam, A retro red phone with yellow sticky note on a desk with text Scam Alert

By HEATHER WALTERS

 

Colleton County residents are being targeted in new scams. 

According to Colleton County law enforcement leaders, several Colleton residents have recently been scammed out of thousands of dollars. The new scams range from the suspects pretending to be officers to the scammers claiming that a family member is in jail and needs bail money.

One of the new scams targeting residents includes the scammer/caller telling the victim that a warrant has been issued for their arrest, telling the person they need to call the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office. A second scammer will call and claim to be an officer, saying that you are a victim of identity fraud. The scammer will then say that you need to take money out of your account and put it into a new account to “be safe.” 

 A second scam now happening is when the scammer calls and claims that one of your family members has been in an accident and needs bail money. “After you pay money to get your alleged family member out of jail, the scammer calls back and says that the person (usually a pregnant woman) is at the station and is pressing charges unless you’re willing to pay money to settle,” said Sheriff Hill. 

 A third scam has the suspect calling and claiming that you have won a new car. “The scammer says all you have to do is pay the taxes and shipping costs. This is a scam,” said Hill. “If you have to pay anything, it’s not free.” 

 According to Hill, most of these scams are targeting Colletonians who are 50 years old or older. The Sheriff’s Office receives at least three calls per day from residents reporting they have been scammed, he said. Once a person is scammed, Hill said the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission get involved in the case. More times than not, however, the stolen money is not found. 

 When asked what Colleton residents should know about these scammers, Hill said to remember that legitimate law enforcement officers and agencies never take money over the phone. He also noted that most of our personal information is already on the “dark Web,” stolen from larger leaks. This information gives the scammer just enough information about someone to seem legitimate. However, he cautions residents not to speak to anyone about their personal information or accounts on the phone. 

“No legitimate government agencies will ever call you and ask for your money or personal information. We don’t take bond money over the phone, via prepaid cards, and we don’t use ATM/Money Grams to deposit money into accounts,” he said. 

“Scamming is their profession,” he said. “They study psychology and attend classes and seminars on how to scam people. Most scammers work for companies overseas. They get a percentage from the money they collect for their business. Scammers make more money in a day than most people make in a month.”  

The sheriff’s office is working with local businesses and retailers to educate residents to help combat the number of people who are being scammed in Colleton.

“We are in the process of implementing a prepaid-card phone scam prevention initiative,” said Hill. In this initiative, Hill said the sheriff’s office is reaching out to local businesses and convenience stores that sell the GreenDot cards or prepaid cards. “We are putting up flyers and talking with employees about knowing what to look for if someone purchases these cards,” he said. Hill said the sheriff’s office is also reaching out to all places of worship in the community, asking them to let officers educate residents on the scams. “We are also placing flyers, educating our residents who over the age of 50,” he said. 

“We want to prevent people from losing their money. Once this money is gone, there’s a very slim chance that it will ever be recovered,” said Hill.

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