In a recent warning issued by the Blount County Sheriff's Office, citizens are advised to stay vigilant against a newly reported phone scam. As per the alert posted on their Facebook page, scammers posing as law enforcement officers have been calling individuals, claiming they need to pay $1,200 for an ankle monitor following their release from jail or face arrest.
The Blount County Sheriff's Office has clarified that these calls are fraudulent. They state that arrangements regarding bond conditions or monitoring devices are made prior to the release of any individual from jail. Such financial dealings would never be conducted over the phone; thus, individuals receiving such calls should dismiss them outright.
Sheriff James Lee Berrong emphasizes that while the Sheriff's Office may contact individuals for routine official business, they will never request payment during these calls. Furthermore, deputies would not request people to meet at unspecified locations to process any form of payment.
The Sheriff's Office suggests that the recipients of any suspicious calls ignore them, particularly those from unknown numbers. Additionally, they recommend taking preventative measures such as installing a spam-blocking app and registering one's phone number on the do not call list to mitigate the risk of receiving such scam calls.
