Scammers are working the phones in Catawba County, posing as sheriff’s deputies, claiming residents have “missed court” and then cranking up the pressure to squeeze out quick payments in gift cards, prepaid cards or cryptocurrency, the sheriff’s office warned Thursday. Deputies say they are already helping victims who reported the calls and are documenting each incident. Officials are urging anyone who feels threatened to hang up, then call 911 or their local non-emergency line.
The Catawba County Sheriff’s Office sounded the alarm on Facebook, explaining that scammers are impersonating multiple deputies and trying to sound official while setting up the scare. The post stresses the office will not call residents to demand money and will never ask for payment by gift card, prepaid card, cryptocurrency or other unusual methods. A transcript attached to the post shows just how outrageous the demands can get, with supposed “fees” of $45,000, $30,000 and $10,000 used to shock people into paying fast.
How the callers try to scare people
These callers often spoof local phone numbers and drop the names of real employees to sound legitimate, then pivot quickly to threats of arrest or hefty fines unless victims pay on the spot. As WBTV reported last year, similar schemes have been circulating in neighboring counties, with scammers using aggressive language and insisting people stay on the line while they rush out to buy gift cards or send other hard-to-track payments.
Why gift cards and crypto are red flags
The Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General, along with other federal partners, warns that legitimate government agencies will never demand payment by gift card, cryptocurrency, wire transfer or other untraceable methods. SSA OIG guidance notes that scammers rely heavily on urgency and pressure, trying to push people into snap decisions. That combination of fear, a supposed legal emergency and a demand for strange payment methods is a classic impersonation scam pattern.
How to protect yourself and report it
Authorities say the safest move is simple: hang up immediately, do not share any personal or financial information and never follow payment instructions from an unsolicited caller. The Federal Trade Commission recommends independently verifying any claim about court dates, fines or warrants by calling your court clerk or local law enforcement using a phone number you look up yourself, not one provided by the caller. The FTC also lets you report scams online at ReportFraud.FTC.gov.
If the scam call involved an internet component or you lost money, officials recommend filing a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3 and considering a report to the North Carolina Department of Justice Consumer Protection Division through its online complaint system. Keep any voicemails, screenshots and proof of purchases, including gift-card receipts or crypto transactions, since those details can help investigators trace the scam.
The sheriff’s office is asking residents to share its Facebook warning widely and to contact local deputies if they think they have been targeted. For the full advisory and the transcript of one of the calls, officials point residents to the original Facebook post.
