OC Sheriff’s Office issues February Scams Update

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is issuing a February scams update as part of its continuing efforts to inform and educate citizens and to help prevent them from becoming victims, explains Public Information Officer Jimmy Watt. “Two social media scams have been reported to the Sheriff’s Office recently, First, back on Jan. 12, a deputy from the Uniform Patrol Division met with a complainant in regards to a case of Facebook harassment in regards to threatening messages that the complainant received from a female requesting money and then after sending money and accepting a friend request from a male subject at the urging of the female, the male demanded more money and if the money was not paid, the complainant was told the authorities would be looking for him. The Sheriff’s Office recommends to never accept friend requests from individuals that you do not know and do not answer instant messages from anyone you do not know. Also, paying any dollar amount to scammers over social media or those who are holding your computer hostage only further emboldens scammers to try to scam others. As we have always said in previous releases, any money or property lost is difficult if not almost impossible to recover, especially if the scam did not originate inside Oconee County. In the second social media scam reported, a deputy from the Uniform Patrol Division received a call from a citizen who said that a family member had a duplicate Facebook account in which a scammer had used that account to scam a friend of the family member out of money. The friends of the family member were warned about the fake account. The financial institution of the victim, after being called by the victim, told the victim to contact the Sheriff’s Office. When it comes to social media accounts, we recommend changing passwords on a regular basis. Also, set your security settings on the highest level possible so that only your friends can be able to see what you post. As well, limit the amount of personal information that others can see on your account, such as dates of birth, you current city you live in or where you work or do not even provide that information anyway. If you have a Facebook friend that is asking for money, reach out to that friend personally to see if what they have posted or sent via an instant message is true. Always remember that if something seems suspicious, more often than not it is. Also remember that pictures such as profile pictures are not private. In another scam report taken recently, a deputy responded to speak with an individual who reportedly was contacted by a scammer claiming to be from Dell stating that the victim’s computers had been hacked by someone from outside the United States. It appears the victim allowed someone from the outside to have remote access to the computers, upon which the computers were shut down and some of the software appeared to be wiped out. After taking the computers to be repaired and after returning home with them and starting them up, the victim discovered that money had been taken from his financial institutions and charge accounts had been opened in the victim’s name. The victim was advised to contact the financial institutions and have any accounts closed and to keep a record of all transactions made that the victim did not make and to report that to the Sheriff’s Office. As we have stated previously, unless you initiate contact with a software or computer manufacturer yourself, do not allow anyone who contacts you remote access to your computers or electronic equipment as information or files can be stolen or wiped off the hard drive and your computer could be held for ransom. A fourth potential scam that has come to the Sheriff’s Office attention recently was one in which deputies were notified by a citizen of a suspicious person that came to the citizen’s residence, claiming to a be a sales representative from an internet and technology company inquiring about an upgrade in service for the residence. The citizen asked for a business card but the reported sales rep did not have one, however, the reported sale rep wrote her name and phone number on a sticky note and then left on foot from the residence. After contacting AT&T and being notified that the company had no sales reps in the area, the citizen contacted law enforcement. That call followed on the heels of another call the Sheriff’s Office received from a complainant who said an individual came to their residence claiming to be from a separate internet and technology company trying to sell internet service. The white male who came to the residence appeared to be in his mid-40’s and was wearing an orange vest and was driving a late model white Ford F-150 with no logo’s on the side. The vehicle left the scene before the deputy arrived. We recommend that if someone comes to your house trying to sell you a service that you contact the company they claim to be from to see if that company has sale representatives in the area,” says PIO Watt. “You may want to tell those individuals that you are not interested and that you will call that company if you are interested in their services. You may want to consider not letting those individuals in your home. A fifth potential scam that the Sheriff’s Office has been made aware of concerned a letter that a citizen received from a company called First Documents from Norco, CA. The letter stated that for a fee of $83 a copy of the citizens Property Assessment Profile and Complimentary Grant Deed can be obtained for the citizen. The letter stated that if the information could not be obtained, the processing fee would be refunded. The letter stated that the information contained in the profile that could be used to verify property information to make sure it is recorded correctly and could be used to contest one’s property assessment and therefore, one’s property taxes. With the fact that copies of deeds are public records, a citizen of Oconee County can got to Pine Street to the Register of Deeds office and obtain a copy of their deed for a minimal fee. Other information that is available to citizens at the county offices on Pine Street would be assessment liens and what someone’s property is assessed at. This information does not require someone to send money out of state to acquire this information. A six scam the Sheriff’s Office was notified of recently is one the Sheriff’s Office has written about before in other press releases. A deputy from the Uniform Patrol Division spoke with a victim by phone. The victim reportedly received a phone call from someone claiming to be the victim’s grandson saying that the grandchild had been arrested and needed money for bond. The victim then spoke with someone reporting to be from law enforcement who told the victim that $4,000 was needed for bond. The scammer told the victim to place the money on gift cards, which the victim did, and was told to call a number back once he had obtained them. As we have stated on more than one occasion, legitimate businesses and organization do not require payment using a prepaid of gift card. Also, law enforcement officers do not handle payment for fines, bond or any type of court costs, so if you receive a call from someone claiming to be a law enforcement officer requiring payment to cover court costs, bonds or warrants, it is almost always a scam. On one more related note, the Sheriff’s Office recommends not answering the phone if you do not recognize the number, even if it is a local call, due to individuals manipulating the phone lines through caller-ID spoofing to make it look like it is a local call. Also, if you receive a phone call that you did not initiate and the automated caller asks you questions that require a yes or no answer, hang up the phone immediately and do no answer. A yes answer could be used by the scammers to record your voice and to make a claim that you did want a particular service or as a way to authorize charges that you did not want.”