Sheriff warns of multiple scams
RUSSELLVILLE – Franklin County Sheriff Shannon Oliver has had enough from scammers.
Oliver said his office has received reports from residents claiming to be deputies and saying they missed a court date or own fines which can be paid over the phone.
“We do not call anyone any one when it comes missing a court date or they have fines. We will just come to your house and arrest you,” Oliver said.
This is one example of scams which Oliver and his deputies have recently been investigating over the last six months.
He said about six months ago a resident received a call from someone who represented the sheriff’s office and their grandson was in jail and needed to be bonded out.
“When someone is arrested, we never reach out to family members, period,” Oliver said. “It will be left up to that person to make the call to their family members regarding their situation.”
Another scam has cost a Franklin County resident $18,500, Oliver said.
A person called the resident and said they could help that person get out of debt by sending $500.
“That went on 18 times,” he said. “The person kept sending money thinking they were getting out of debt.”
Oliver said the person stopped taking calls from the scammer, and the scammer called the sheriff’s office saying he was a family member and wanted a sheriff’s deputy to check on the person.
“He was so bold that he wanted us to do a welfare check and then tell that person to call him,” Oliver said.
Residents have been victims of romance scams, too, according to the sheriff. Investigators were notified by a resi- dent who had recently gotten into a relationship which seemed to be getting serious.
“The person then told the resident that a family member needed help with medical bills, so he needed to send money, and the relationship would get more serious,” Oliver said.
Another romance scam investigators have recently worked is when a person was getting into a relationship and that person sent provocative photos and then threatened to release the photos on social media.
“We’ve worked at least three cases regarding that kind of scam,” Oliver added.
He said the scams aren’t targeted to any particular age range.
He said the recent calls to residents about either not reporting for jury duty, or having a warrant for their arrest have targeted people in their 20s.
“The best advice I can give to residents who think they may be getting scammed is to hang up on that person and call your local law enforcement,” Oliver said. “And if it’s too good to be true, then it probably is.”
