“I want to make our citizens aware that we have received some reports of phone scams of individuals claiming to be from the Social Security Administration. These callers claim that that victim’s Social Security Number has been implicated in criminal activity. The caller then makes a demand that the victim obtain prepaid Walmart or Target cards to transfer payment to resolve the issue. These calls are known to be scams targeting the elderly. We want to encourage all our citizens to exercise extreme caution when receiving calls from unknown sources, even if they claim to be from a government organization. Government offices will never ask you to submit payment by phone utilizing untraceable sources of funds, (such as gift cards, or prepaid cards). Citizens should never give out personal information by phone to unknown parties. If any of our citizens has been victimized by one of these phone scams call your law enforcement agency and file a report. Many times once the funds have been submitted by electronic means those funds are difficult to recover. So please don’t provide these scammers with any personal information or purchase these prepaid cards. It is important that family and friends of our seniors sit down and discuss this important issue with them. Much too often these scammers victimize our most vulnerable by these fraudulent acts. We have included links that our citizens can use to report these scams if you believe you have receive such calls. These scams can be reported to the Social Security Administration or the Federal Bureau of Investigations at the links below. If we can be of further assistance, don’t hesitate to call our investigative division at (706) 775-8326.” Sheriff Chuck Smith said.
https://www.ssa.gov/
https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety