Sheriff Patrick Ray has issued an alert asking the public to beware of a scam against would be victims.
In a prepared statement, Sheriff Ray said “I have had many calls this week about someone calling citizens here in DeKalb County claiming to be with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, who are claiming to have a warrant on the person who received the call. This is a scam,” said Sheriff Ray.
“The scammer claims this person owes a bond or fine for not showing up on a summons or not showing up to report to Grand Jury Duty. The scammer is using a local Judge’s name who issued the warrant. The scammer is trying to collect hundreds to thousands of dollars from the caller for the bond or the fine”.
“The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department DOES NOT do this practice. Hang up the phone on the caller and DO NOT send the caller any money. If you send the scammer any money, it is almost impossible to get it back. Most scammers we see are from other counties and not in the US even though it appears on your caller ID as a local number,” Sheriff Ray said
“If you are a victim of this scam and have sent money, please contact the Cookeville FBI office at 931-526-8622 to report it”.