The Blount County Sheriff's Office has issued a public warning on social media about a recent increase in scam calls. The scammers are impersonating sheriff's deputies and concocting situations in which unsuspecting victims are told that a loved one is in jail and in need of bail money. In another variation, callers are falsely informed they have missed jury duty, have an outstanding warrant, or owe fines and are instructed to make payments over the phone.
According to a Facebook post by the Blount County Sheriff's Office, these scam calls can be quite persuasive, with criminals often using the names of current deputies and spoofing the sheriff's office main phone line "to make it appear even more legitimate." The post warns the public to be wary of such calls, noting that deputies will never call someone to inform them their loved one is in jail and needs bond money. It also highlights that payment requests for fines are not conducted over the phone but in person at the court clerk's office.
The warning details several red flags that should alert individuals to possible scams. These include requests to withdraw large sums of cash, paying fines with gift cards or through a bitcoin machine, or interactions involving ride-share drivers used by scammers to "collect" money. Victims of such scams may end up sending thousands of dollars that are unlikely to ever be recovered.
The post further advises that if anyone receives a suspicious call or one that claims an affiliation with law enforcement, they should verify its legitimacy by calling the Sheriff’s Office mainline at 865-273-5000. They add that, should a ride-share driver show up unexpectedly to pick up a package, this should serve to indicate that the interaction is not legitimate. Additionally, the sheriff's office shared an instance where an individual was told they had won a vehicle and needed to pay $10,000 to receive it, flagged as another type of phone scam.
