It seems that there is always a scam around with the intent of taking someone’s money. One that occurred last year and has made a return recently is a scam that has the caller pretending to be a member of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office and soliciting money.
Sheriff Barry Babb said a scam that surfaced in 2014 and made a return today has a man calling from a pre-paid cell phone posing as an employee of his office. In some cases the man identified himself as Sgt. Wesley Mitchell, Babb said.
And though no individual by that name is employed at the sheriff’s office, the man claims to be acting on the sheriff’s behalf and instructs the potential victim to purchase a pre-paid card ranging from $240-330 in lieu of a penalty for missing a jury summons, Babb said.
Not one for discriminating, the caller has also contacted sheriff’s office employees at their homes and attempted to run the scam on them, said Babb.
Babb said investigators with his office are working the case, adding that the Georgia Sheriff’s Association has reported that some scams, though perhaps not this one, have been run by inmates from state prisons.
“No one from this office will call and ask a person to send any money, either in cash or from a pre-paid card purchased from a business like a grocery store,” said Babb. “We don’t operate that way. The best thing to do is to ignore it.”
Babb said residents are welcome to contact the sheriff’s office and make a report if contacted by a scam artist.
