March 8, 2024 – More than $10,500 was extorted this week from innocent victims who feared being arrested by scammers posing as sheriff’s deputies, said Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Keith Lowery.
These criminals threaten to arrest citizens on fake warrants.
They tell the victim to avoid arrest by depositing money into a crypto coin kiosk or ATM that contains an account number only the criminal has access to use, the chief deputy said. These methods make it very difficult to prosecute these cases because there are limited regulations on crypto currency.
Don’t fall for this attempt by scammers to take your money.
“Sheriff’s deputies do not accept payment for outstanding warrants and they most certainly do not accept cryptocurrency, which is the preferred currency of scam artists as it limits the ability to track these funds,” Lowery said.
Scammers are using recordings of Sheriff’s Office deputies’ voice mails and their phone numbers to make their request for money sound authentic.
If you receive these calls, do not give the caller any information. Simply hang up and hang on to your hard-earned money.
Source: Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office
Please Join Our FREE Newsletter!
