As the holiday season rolls in, so do the scam artists, each year with a new twist on old ploys. The latest alert comes from the Blount County Sheriff's Office in Maryville, Tennessee, warning residents about persistent phone scams that exploit the fears of the relatives of incarcerated individuals. These scams falsely claim that payment is required for ankle monitors or to avoid arrest due to outstanding warrants or missed jury duty.
In a message released on their Facebook page, the Blount County Sheriff's Office stated emphatically that at no time would a deputy reach out to demand money over the phone. According to the Blount County Sheriff's Office, "At NO TIME will a deputy call the family of an arrestee." They go on to clarify that communication about an ankle monitor will only ever take place directly with the arrested individual and the monitoring service, never with family. Scammers are believed to gather potential victim information from public records such as the Sheriff's app and the 'Inmate Now' feature on the Blount County Sheriff's Office website.
Moreover, the Blount County Sheriff's Office reiterated that its deputies would never contact individuals to enforce payments for warrants or jury duty—tactics scammers frequently resort to during this time of year. In the stern words of Blount County Sheriff's Office, "These criminal scammers will stop at nothing to get your money. PLEASE DO NOT FALL FOR THESE SCAMS!!" This message underlines the urgency to remain vigilant against such tactics.
The sheriff's office advises the public to be wary of calls asking for payment in any form, including bank information, credit cards, gift cards or cryptocurrency. As the scammers adapt to call-spoofing technologies, the advice is to never hastily provide any payment details to unsolicited callers. The Blount County Sheriff's Office emphasizes, "Sheriff’s deputies may call individuals about routine business, but you will NEVER be asked to provide payment by way of bank account information, credit card, gift cards, bitcoin, or any other method of payment by way of phone." Anyone who receives such a call is encouraged to directly contact the Sheriff’s Office to verify its legitimacy.
