By Lorrie Ross
Staff Writer
Around tax time, everyone is thinking about money. Whether they owe or are due a refund, people want to refrain from spending more than needed. Almost everyone also wants to avoid getting into some sort of legal trouble and they want to help loved ones avoid trouble, too.
This is why scammers have figured out how to bilk people for more and more money, in increasingly more innovative ways. Chief Joe Wood, of the Clay County Sheriff's Office, has seen an increase in various money-seeking scams in recent years. “These offenders prey on the elderly and call, often late at night,” Wood explained. “They have usually done some research and will have someone say they are the grandchild. The person on the line will be very convincing, even crying while saying she was arrested and needs money. He will tell grandpa he needs money because he got in trouble of some kind. We have had several older people send money or gift cards to scammers like this.”
Another common scam is when the callers pose as law enforcement. In March 2024, the sheriff's office shared a press release from North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein. A common phone scam has people being called by someone claiming to be a deputy or other law enforcement representative. The caller tells the person who answers they will be arrested if they do not pay a fine. The caller sometimes uses the real name of a local law enforcement member to make the scam more authentic. Remember, no legitimate law enforcement officer or government official will call and threaten you with arrest or other legal consequences.
Wood suggested people call the non-emergency phone line at (828) 389-2256 to report any suspicious scam-type activity. While the scammers are frequently not local, law enforcement can help report the information to the appropriate agency.
Clay County Sheriff Mark Buchanan agreed, “Due to a great many of these things originating from out of the country, folks are really limited to calling the Federal Scam reporting hot-line. Federal agencies will compile these reports and will group them with other victims if and when criminal cases are made. We can and will certainly prepare an incident report as an official report of the crime.”
Here are some reminders from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina Attorney General:
• If the person is claiming to be a grandchild or other loved one, hang up and call them back on their phone. If you do not reach them, contact another family member or someone else you trust.
• Try not to panic. It’s understandably scary to get a call from a law enforcement officer saying you may be arrested, but don’t act out of fear. Take a moment and assess the situation.
• Never purchase a gift card, cryptocurrency, wire transfers or anything someone has solicited from you over the phone. This is a common way scammers ask to help pay for someone’s arrest, debt, back taxes, legal issues or something else.
• Verify the caller. While spoofing is less common than it used to be, scammers can still use technology to make a call appear as if it’s coming from an authentic source. It’s better to hang up, look up the agency’s number on your own and then call them back.
In addition, the IRS does not call, threatening with jail or a lawsuit. IRS.gov publication 4524 offers this advice. “Avoid IRS impersonators. The IRS will not call you with threats of jail or lawsuits. The IRS will not send you an unsolicited email suggesting you have a refund or that you need to update your account. The IRS will not request any sensitive information online,” the publication states. These are all scams and they are persistent. Don’t fall for them. Forward IRS-related scam emails to: www.phishing@irs.gov.” Report IRS impersonation telephone calls at: www.tigta.gov
Attorney General Stein’s office also recommends you call someone you trust or their office 1 (877) 5-NO-SCAM. If you do receive such a call from a scammer, hang up and report it to local law enforcement or file a complaint with our office at: www.ncdoj.gov/complaint.
This is the first in a series of articles on scams, Internet fraud and Internet dangers.