The Habersham County Sheriff's Office is warning about an ongoing phone scam targeting residents in the area.
Scammers are apparently making calls, demanding payment from victims in order to avoid an arrest warrant being served at their place of residence.
"Scammers call residents claiming to be from the sheriff’s office and demanding that the person go to a store and purchase a Green Dot prepaid card for the amount supposedly owed," said Rob Moore, Public Information Officer for the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office. "The caller claims if the potential victim does not provide them with the card access number to satisfy the specified fine, deputies will arrest that person."
Moore said that the callers are sometimes able to "spoof" the Sheriff's Office telephone number, or the phone number of various legitimate county locations, such as the county jail and courthouse.
"Scam artists prey on people’s emotions by trying to instill fear or create a sense of urgency, hoping people will act before thinking through the demands," Moore said. "The Habersham County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies will never call asking for money."
"Those who receive such a call, no matter how convincing, should hang up immediately," he added.
According to local protocol, if the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office procures a legitimate warrant for someone's arrest, deputies will be dispatched to the individual's residence in order to serve the warrant. Phone calls will never be placed to the subject of a potential warrant.
Moore said the Sheriff's Office has received reports of similar scams being carried out over the phone, including one scam that accused the potential victim of missing jury duty, or another that involves the caller threatening to cut off the victim's utilities due to missed payments.
For more information on avoiding fraud and scams, visit habershamsheriff.com/scams.
