Dougherty Co. Sheriff’s Office warns of increased phone scams
If you believe you've been scammed and are trying to trace the scammer, you can contact the Dougherty County Sheriff's Office at 229-302-3600.
ALBANY, Ga. – The Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office is issuing a warning about the latest lines of phone scams affecting the community. With this one targeting people’s money through impersonating agencies like the Sheriff’s Office and the Social Security Administration.
The Sheriff’s Office says the most common one they’ve heard has been scammers posing as law enforcement…
With some Dougherty County deputies being targeted by these scam calls.
“The Sheriff’s Office has been getting these scam calls also. And we answer the phone with ‘Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office’ and they still try to get you to send money. So, it’s not just the public, but the sheriff’s office as a whole,” said Captain Kevin Jordan, Investigations, Dougherty Co. Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheriff’s Office says that with the rise in artificial intelligence, it makes cracking down on these financial predators even more difficult than it already is.
“It’s very difficult, because a lot of these scammers are calling overseas, different states, and the numbers they’re using are spoofed numbers; we can’t trace them because they don’t connect to a Verizon, an AT&T, or Sprint, or anyone like that,” he said.
It’s not just law enforcement scammers have been impersonating lately…
As scammers have been posing as part of the social security information to con people out of their money.
And, while cracking down on these scammers had been feasible in the past, it isn’t the same case anymore.
“If money is sent, and we can find out who did it, we can charge them. But the thing is, the expense; it takes a lot of money to track them down, since they’re not across the street here,” he said.
In the meantime, the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office has a couple pieces of advice to make sure scammers don’t try to pull a fast one.
“If you think it’s a scam, it probably is a scam. Always call us. It doesn’t matter what time, just call before you send money. You know there’s another scam going around and they call and say ‘this is a ransom’. With the elderly, first thing you ask is what’s your grandson’s name…” he said.
As the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office continues to chip away at finding these phone scammers, they do want them to remain vigilant if they end up on the line with them.
If you believe you’ve been scammed and are trying to trace the scammer, you can contact the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office at 229-302-3600.
Brian Roche reporting.
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