How a make-believe police sergeant scammed real money from Hilton Head man

A man who posed as a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office sergeant scammed a Hilton Head man out of almost $1,000 Saturday, according to a Sheriff's Office report.

The victim answered a phone call and the voice on the end identified himself as Sgt. Jason Williams of the Sheriff's Office. He told the victim there were two warrants out for his arrest, the report said.

He instructed the victim to buy two separate Visa gift cards worth a total of $975 and label one "bond release" and the other "fees," according to the report.

The man bought the two gift cards and gave the authorization number to Williams before dropping the them in a mailbox at the post office on William Hilton Parkway. When he couldn't get back in touch with Williams, the victim called police.

The deputy filing the police report called the number, and the man who answered the phone introduced himself as Sgt. Jason Williams with the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, the report said. The deputy told Williams he was also with the Sheriff's Office. Williams told the deputy he works in the Hilton Head office and received the payment from the man he talked to on the phone before disconnecting the call.

The report said the call was disconnected twice and the deputy was sent to voicemail when he called a third time.

This story was originally published July 3, 2018 at 1:54 PM.