Aiken County Sheriff's Office: Watch out for phone scams

AIKEN COUNTY, SC (WFXG) –
There is a scam that has affected at least one CSRA county. Scammers try to steal money from people by claiming that you have failed in your jury duty or that you have an outstanding warrant that needs to be paid immediately.

Phone scams are nothing new in today's society, but if someone asks for personal information or quickly sends money via prepaid gift cards, credit cards, or wire transfer, they are most likely of a scam.

“I can tell you right now, no government agency is going to call you asking for money,” says Capt. Eric Abdullah of the Aiken County Sheriff's Office.

The Aiken County Sheriff's Office is alerting everyone to ongoing attempts to extract money from citizens. Scammers attempt to obtain funds from citizens by telling them they have breached their jury duty and have outstanding fines or arrest warrants that must be paid immediately to avoid arrest.

Some scammers go so far as to provide an email or photo of a fake money order. “…we will not send anyone a photo or photocopy of an arrest warrant that has not been executed.” Captain Abdullah explains

If you are unsure whether a phone call is legitimate, hang up and call the agency the person claims to be associated with.

Markeshia Tolliver, a customer service representative for the Better Business Bureau, says it's important to ask why the person is calling.

“Ignore calls from immediate actions. Their goal is to make you pay before you can think. It's a scare tactic…” Tolliver explained.

By visiting the Better Business Bureau website, you can search any number or organization to see if it is legitimate or not.