Residents Beware: Popular Phone Scam Returns to Sumter County

SUMTER COUNTY, S.C. — Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis wants to warn Sumter County residents about the return of a phone scam in which callers pose as law enforcement officers and attempt to obtain money from residents by threatening arrest.

The scam is not new. The scammer calls your phone, posing as a member of local law enforcement, and claims that fines or fees must be paid immediately or you risk being arrested. The scammer tries to get you to pay the “fine” with your credit card, debit card, payment app, gift card, or other payment tool – and is known to wait until the victim buys a payment card.

Scammers use the names of real law enforcement people and real law enforcement phone numbers. Some asked a second individual scammer to act as a member of law enforcement to “verify” the first scammer's claims and even used conference calls to make the scam appear legitimate.

Sheriff Dennis would like to remind residents that the Sheriff's Office does not accept payments over the phone. If you receive a call from someone demanding payment of impending fines and threatening arrest if you don't pay over the phone, hang up and call the Sumter County Sheriff's Office.

Never disclose your personal information to anyone over the phone, text or email.

Always find the agency number yourself and independently verify whether a call, text or email is legitimate.

If you have been one of the many victims of a scam, report the incident to the Sheriff's Office at 803-436-2774.