Scam alert: Man posing as a sheriff’s employee wants money by phone
A man is calling Jackson County residents and telling them they need to pay their fines over the phone. But it’s a scam, Sheriff Mike Ezell said.
The unknown man appears to be using a cellphone to make the calls, he said.
The caller says the person has missed a court date and must pay fines over the phone or face other consequences.
It’s not the type of phone call anyone from the Sheriff’s Department would make, Ezell said.
No one has fallen for the scam yet, as far as investigators know, but it could happen, especially to the elderly who may be frightened and do what the man asks, he said.
Anyone who receives this type of call or has information about the man making the calls is asked to call the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department at 228-769-3063.
Similar scams have been reported across the Mississippi Coast in the past year.
Robin Fitzgerald: 228-896-2307, @robincrimenews
This story was originally published April 13, 2017 at 11:03 AM with the headline "Scam alert: Man posing as a sheriff’s employee wants money by phone."