The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office (SJSO) has pulled the plug on their online inmate roster in response to a scam where incarcerated individuals and their families are being targeted by fraudsters impersonating bail bond agents. These scammers are conducting their schemes using the easily accessible information from the jail's inmate database to contact and deceive the relatives of the jailed, hustling them for money under the guise of securing their loved ones' release.
According to a warning by the SJSO, quoted by WOKV, inmates have been using online tools to find mug shots and arrest records, and then reaching out to the families posing as bondsmen, requesting bail money through mobile apps—a method legitimate bail bond services seldom use. One family was conned out of $1,000 by a scammer who persuaded them to believe they could bail out their family member.
A spokeswoman for the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office reiterated the importance of skepticism when receiving unexpected calls about an arrest, emphasizing that authentic bail bond services generally stick to traditional forms of payment, according to First Coast News. Families are urged to verify demands for payment and confirm the legitimacy of the person they're dealing with by checking a list of registered bail bond companies provided by SJSO.
As the community braces for a revamp of the inmate search function, expected to offer better protection against such fraud, the Sheriff's Office encourages continual vigilance. "Be cognizant that there is a scam going on. It’s been a long-running scam for at least two years. Don’t be vulnerable just because my loved one is in jail," one victim, who was scammed out of $1,000 shared her experience with Action News Jax. While specific to St. Johns County, such deceptions are not geographically bound, as these type of scams can happen anywhere, according to St. Johns County Sheriffs Office inmate search page.
