Last Updated on September 7, 2022 10:05 am
The Watauga County Sheriff’s Office wants area residents to be aware that the Sheriff’s Office continues to receive calls about a local phone scam in which the scammers impersonate Sheriff’s Office personnel to fraudulently obtain money from innocent victims.
The scammer can also manipulate caller ID to make the number appear to come from the sheriff’s office. The caller tells the person there is a warrant out for their arrest for a certain amount of fine. The reason for the warrant is represented as being anything from a traffic violation, missed jury duty, failure to pay full income tax requirements to the Internal Revenue Service, or some other minor infraction.
Local citizens have recently reported a male caller who identifies himself as Kent Worthy from the WCSO, and tells them their options are either to surrender themselves to the Sheriff’s Office for arrest, or that they may pay a “reduced” payment of the fine to adjudicate the warrant.
The scammer provides instruction on how the payment should be submitted, usually through an “eGift” cash card or similar payment to a specified account or name given by the caller. These scam artists use pre-paid phones and many times are not even in the jurisdiction where the crime occurred, making their apprehension difficult. The scammers will change their names but will always say they are with local law enforcement.
The Watauga County Sheriff’s…
