Scammers are hijacking the Blount County Sheriff’s Office business phone number and using it to call residents with bogus court summonses and threats of arrest, the agency warned Thursday. The callers lean on fear and urgency, claiming people owe a fee to clear up supposed warrants and sometimes pushing them to pay with gift cards, cryptocurrency, or other hard-to-trace methods. The sheriff’s office stresses that deputies do not call people to demand money and urges residents to treat any unsolicited demand for payment with serious skepticism.
In a Blount County Sheriff’s Office Facebook post, officials say the scammers are spoofing the department’s own business line so the calls look legitimate on caller ID. The impersonators then tell people they must pay immediately to avoid being arrested. The post reminds residents that deputies will not call to inform someone they have a warrant and that real court notices are handled through official channels, not phone shakedowns for cash. The office also asks community members to share the warning with relatives who are not on social media and might miss the alert.
How the scheme works
According to the Federal Trade Commission, caller ID spoofing lets fraudsters make it appear as if they are phoning from a trusted local office before they start using threats and high-pressure tactics to squeeze out quick payments. The FTC notes that these impostors often demand money through gift cards, bitcoin, or wire transfers, which makes the funds extremely difficult to recover. The agency repeatedly warns that legitimate government offices do not call out of the blue to demand immediate payment or insist that you pay by those methods.
What the sheriff's office is telling people
As detailed on the Blount County Sheriff’s Office website, deputies may place calls for routine business, but they will not threaten to arrest you over the phone or require payment to clear up a warrant. The office emphasizes that "you will NEVER be asked to provide payment over the phone" and advises anyone worried about a call to hang up and then contact the sheriff’s main line directly using the official number. Investigators are gathering reports to track patterns in the scam and identify any victims.
What to do if you get a suspicious call
If someone calls demanding money or sensitive information, the safest move is to hang up immediately. Do not share Social Security numbers, bank or card details, or one-time verification codes with an unexpected caller. If you already paid or felt pressured into sending money, report it to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and consider submitting a complaint to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov. Your phone carrier and call-blocking apps can help screen spoofed calls, but the most reliable step is to look up the agency’s real number on its official website before calling back.
Local coverage has documented similar scams across Blount County and nearby areas, and the sheriff’s office has issued repeated alerts about schemes involving fake ankle-monitor payments and phony bond requests in recent months. Those reports show a familiar pattern: scammers recycle the same intimidation tactics and spoofed numbers to go after residents again and again. Staying skeptical and confirming any supposed legal notice directly with the court or law enforcement is still the strongest defense.
Anyone who receives one of these calls is urged to hang up, verify the claim independently, and report the incident to local law enforcement so investigators can spot trends and alert the public. The Blount County Sheriff’s Office again underlined that deputies will not demand payment over the phone and encouraged residents to spread the word, especially to older or less online family members who are frequently targeted.
