Local and state cops warn public of two hot scams. Who are the crooks impersonating?
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The Grift List
South Carolina has the seventh-highest rate of fraud cases in the U.S., and the state’s relatively high median age leaves residents especially vulnerable to scammers’ tactics. National data shows older adults are disproportionately affected by such crimes.
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Concerned Beaufort County residents made frequent calls to the sheriff’s office last week saying they had been contacted by someone representing the sheriff’s office demanding payments related to missed jury duty or some other legal obligation.
Cops are seeing increases in this type of grift as they are more common in the summer months and during the year-end holidays. According to Beaufort County spokesperson Master Sgt. Danny Allen. When phone scammers ask for money is the biggest give-away of a con like this. “We’re never going to ask for money,” Allen said.
What to look for and how to avoid a loss
Scammers will often ask for payment through pre-paid gift cards for Apple, Amazon, the Google Pay or other online forms of currency. The more savvy scammers will try to get their victims banking information.
By policy, the sheriff’s office does not accept payment for fines and penalties related to criminal matters nor solicit payments for anything over the phone.
Attorney General issues a warning
In a more troubling development, the South Carolina Attorney General’s office sent out a notice of a scam where criminals scare their potential victims into believing they have participated in an illegal conversation with a minor. The scammer pretend to be part of the Internet Crimes Against Children task force.
The scam involves a crook pretending to be a woman and chatting with a male victim online through a dating app. Subsequently, the victim is contacted by an accomplice posing as a “parent” asking for money for talking to their child. The other wrinkle in this con is another accomplice may pose as an “investigator” informing them they can pay a fine to avoid jail time. In both instances, scammers try to convince the victim they were actually talking to a minor.
The Internet Crimes Against Children task force was contacted about the scam every day last week, the attorney general’s office said.
In both scams, criminals may use the names of real investigators or deputies to further convince their victims they represent actual law enforcement personnel. Sheriff’s office spokesperson Allen said even his name had been used in a scam before.
The sheriff’s office gave the following tips to avoid getting scammed:
If you receive a call from a scammer, simply hang up.
If you have a question about the information they are providing to you, ask for a callback number and reach out to our office for verification.
Never provide any personal or banking information to callers if you don’t have an established relationship with them.
Stay vigilant. Scammers are always creating new and clever ways to defraud unknowing victims.
This story was originally published July 23, 2024 at 3:23 PM.
