Augusta County Sheriff's Office warns about phone scam — again
VERONA — The Augusta County Sheriff's Office is warning residents about a phone scam where victims are losing hundreds of dollars, or even thousands of dollars in some cases.
The scam callers claim to be from the sheriff's office and are telling victims they've either got an arrest warrant, missed court, or need to post bail.
"All of these types of calls are absolutely scam calls," the sheriff's office said Monday night in a press release.
Who called me from this phone number?
The caller will instruct the victim to deposit money through Cash App, Bitcoin, or to purchase pre-paid cards.
Lt. Leslie Snyder, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office, said that several people were contacted Monday by a scam caller telling them they'd missed court. She said scammers have contacted at least 50 people, and in one case a victim was bilked out of $6,000.
Scammers are also targeting registered sex offenders, demanding an immediate payment under the threat of arrest.
The sheriff's office said do not give out personal or bank account information to the callers, and don't wire money, transfer money to another account, or purchase gift cards or money orders for anyone claiming to be law enforcement or from a government agency. "Government agencies will never call asking for this kind of information, nor provide instructions for wiring or depositing monies," the sheriff's office said.
“This information has been provided to the community numerous times in the past," added Augusta County Sheriff Donald L. Smith. "Please be mindful and do not be tricked by these tactics."
Report scam phone number
If you receive such a call and question the legitimacy of the call, please contact the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office at (540) 245-5333. "We will help you determine how to resolve the situation without payment," the agency said in the release.
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Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@newsleader.com. You can also follow him on X (formerly Twitter).
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Phone call scam targeting Virginia residents — some lost thousands
