Beware of scams

 Scams have long been a problem with people trying to trick unsuspecting subjects out of money or important personal information. In recent years, technology has offered more ways for scammers to get creative and more elaborate with their schemes, but it has also offered more ways to get the word out and warn neighbors as people can share their experiences via social media.

White County Sheriff Steve Page said that one of the most common scams that is being reported is someone calling and saying that they have a warrant for your, or a loved one’s, arrest. The scam is that they will tell you that if you send money, there will be no arrest and that the payment will eliminate the problem.

“The sheriff’s department will not call you about a warrant,” Page insisted. “If we have a warrant for you, we will show up in person.”

Page said that other states will also not call someone about an outstanding warrant. Instead, they would contact the local law enforcement agency about the warrant and then that agency would send an officer in person, not via telephone.

In 2020, National Slam the Scam Day, which was observed March 7, was born in an effort to raise public awareness and combat Social Security-related scams. In 2021, as reported losses from consumers climbed to more than $446 million, the National Slam the Scam campaign expanded to include other scams. However, by 2022, reported losses were close to $509 million.

With scammers counting on their targets being uninformed of their deceptive tactics, the goal of National Slam the Scam Day is to flood the public with information regarding current and ongoing scams that are being used to trick people out of their money.

The following tips are provided by the Social Security Administration – the originator of Slam the Scam Day:

• Hang up or ignore suspicious phone calls or texts
• Remember that government employees will never threaten you or demand immediate payment.
• Learn how to recognize scammers
• Many scammers pretend to be with a government agency or organization you are familiar with.
• Scammers often say that there is a financial problem or offer a prize in exchange for personal information.
• Scammers often pressure you to act immediately.
• Scammers often demand you pay them in a hard-to-trace manner, such as gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfer, money order, or mailed cash.
• Protect your personal information and always be skeptical of any contact you didn’t initiate.
• Report scams to the appropriate agencies.
• Stay up to date on current scams by regularly visiting ssa.gov/scam

Page listed other common scams as being ones that claim they are from Publisher’s Clearinghouse, a longtime known organization for awarding prizes, or some type of lottery. However, instead of just awarding a person, they are asking for personal information or even a payment before they can send the prize.

“Never send money to win money,” Page said. “That’s not how those actual prize houses work. And don’t give out your personal information such as your Social Security number or banking information. If they are a legitimate prize house, they would already have any information they need – they would have got that when you registered for the contest.”

Other common scams include getting a phone call that your checking account has been hacked or that a loved one has been in an accident and the hospital needs a payment in order to treat them or provide them with the medication they need.

“In the case of an emergency, a hospital will treat a patient. They will worry about payment at a later time and will work with the patient and/or their family to set up payments,” Page explained. “They are not going to call and demand payment or deny treatment. This is absolutely a scam.”

The sheriff also warned about paying for things with a gift card, pre-paid credit cards, or other methods of cash-on-demand payments, saying that it is impossible for them to trace back to the person who received it and that, even if they could, the money would be long gone by the time they found them.

Another common scam, according to Page, is for a person to receive a check in the mail. When they deposit the check it will eventually be returned for insufficient funds, but most of the time the money has already been spent leaving the victim responsible for paying the bank back for the lack of funds.

“The problem is that we can’t arrest these people,” Page said about the scammers. “They aren’t here. They are calling from other states or even other countries. We have no way of getting to them.”

Despite most scammers not being local, Page encouraged the public to call him if they are contacted with what they think could be a scam.

“Call me. I will look into it,” Page said.

The sheriff also urged people to call his office and ask for him personally, saying that he will look into whether the claim is legitimate and, if not, add it to the list of current scams for the sake of awareness.

Page also added that people should be aware when they are buying or selling on local swap sites such as Facebook Marketplace or LSN. It is always best to meet in a public space and to accept/give only cash. In an effort to help the community with these transactions, White County Sheriff’s Office has established a “Safe Zone” in the parking lot at the justice center.

“We have high tech cameras running 24/7, and the space is well-lit,” Page said. “We want to be sure that there is a safe place for people of White County to exchange goods.”

If you feel that you have been the victim of a scam or are unsure about the validity of claims or offers you are receiving, call the White County Sheriff’s Office at (931) 836-2700.