Residents of Irmo have been targeted by a scam that is sweeping the nation, according to the Irmo Police Department.
Several citizens reported that they had received dire calls from someone claiming to be Irmo Police Chief Bobby Dale warning them that they had a warrant out for missing federal jury duty. The caller told citizens they could simply send some money to make it go away.
“That’s not how warrants work, folks. That’s not how any of this works,” the Irmo Police Department warned. “An Irmo Police Officer will NEVER call you and demand money to keep you out of jail. If you get a phone call like this, hang up immediately and contact your local law enforcement agency.”
The Federal Trade Commission has warned that the goal of these kinds of scam calls is either to intimidate victims into making payments or to extract personal information that can be used for identity theft.
“They might say you’ll be arrested, fined, or deported if you don’t pay taxes or some other debt right away,” according to information on the FTC’s website. “The goal is to scare you into paying. But real law enforcement and federal agencies won’t call and threaten you.”
So-called “impostor scams,” where the scammer pretends to be law enforcement or a legitimate business, was the leading reported fraud in 2022, according to the FTC. Telltale signs of an impostor scam include the caller creating great urgency for payment, for instance by threatening the victim’s arrest or saying that a reward might expire. Scammers will often demand payment through unconventional methods, for instance gift cards, wire transfers or crypto currency.
NPR reported that $2.6 billion was lost to impostor scams alone in 2022. Many of the calls are made by scammers overseas who use sophisticated techniques to make it appear as if the calls are coming from legitimate law enforcement numbers, according to NPR.
“Scammers use many tactics to sound and appear credible. They sometimes provide information like badge numbers, names of actual law enforcement officials and federal judges, and courthouse addresses,” warned the U.S. Marshal’s Service.
Last week’s calls were not the first fake law enforcement calls to hit the Irmo area.
In July, the Irmo Police Department warned in another Facebook post that scammers posing as law enforcement officers were telling residents that they had missed a court date or have an outstanding warrant. The scammers were then pressuring residents to make payments via Cash App, Venmo, or iTunes Gift Cards in order to resolve the fictitious legal trouble.
These kinds of scams can also be find all across South Carolina. In July, the Mount Pleasant Police Department reported that a citizen had told them that a scammer called her and said there was a warrant out for her arrest because someone was using her name for money laundering.
Anyone who believes that they have been the victim of an impostor scam is urged to contact their local law enforcement agency and report the scam to the FTC.
“These scammers try hard, so let’s make sure they end up broke. Tell a friend to tell a friend and stay safe, Irmo,” the Irmo Police Department advised.
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