In a pattern that is becoming all too familiar, Blount County residents are once again being targeted by phone scammers looking to quickly and illegally part individuals from their money. According to a recent warning by the Blount County Sheriff's Office, con artists are falsely representing themselves as Sheriff's Office employees, making a range of claims designed to coerce people into making hasty payments. The types of fraudulent claims range from asserting that individuals have outstanding warrants to claims that a loved one has been arrested and requires bond money.
The Sheriff, James Lee Berrong, urged the public to be vigilant, stating that people are often threatened with arrest or heavy fines if they fail to promptly pay-up. Payments are demanded through various means, including credit cards, gift cards, and even cryptocurrency like bitcoin. In one alarming instance today, a victim was coerced into providing credit card information over the phone because they were falsely informed a family member was in need of bail money. This plea for awareness comes directly from an official social media post made by the Sheriff's Office.
It's well-established that Sheriff's Office personnel may indeed contact individuals about routine matters. However, the office has made it explicitly clear that they will never solicit financial details over the phone or ask individuals to settle fines via unconventional payment methods. The scammers' tactics involve Internet-generated phone numbers and number spoofing to feign legitimacy, exploiting the trust the community has in law enforcement.
Confronting such schemes requires a combination of awareness and proactive measures. The Sheriff's Office has recommended not picking up calls from unknown numbers and considering the installation of spam-blocking apps on personal devices. They also encourage residents to register their phone numbers on the "Do Not Call" registry to potentially reduce the chances of being contacted by illicit callers. Fundamental to these measures is the critical guarding of personal and financial information, stressing that such details should never be shared over the phone with unfamiliar parties or organizations.
To help spread the message beyond those who follow social media, the Sheriff's Office has made a point to ask the public to share this information with friends and family. The intent is clear: to prevent any more of their citizens from falling victim to these schemes. For these criminals, the endgame is to "try to take your money in an attempt to make some easy cash," according to the official warning by the Sheriff's Office.
