Sheriff warns residents to beware of scams

Bossier Sheriff Julian Whittington warns residents about becoming a victim of a scam, especially in light of two cases recently where thieves are trying to scam money from residents.

In this latest scam, residents are called by someone claiming to be a deputy marshal with the U.S. Marshals Service.  The would-be thief tells the unsuspecting person that he or she needs to come to the federal courthouse to meet them to pay a fine to avoid arrest.  When the person actually comes to the courthouse, the scammer will not be there, but will give them instructions to go get a Green Dot MoneyPak card, place money on the card, and then tell them the number.  If they do that, the person is out the money. All the while, there was never any legal issue in the first place.

This type of scam is nothing new and could come from any thief pretending to be A law enforcement officer trying to pressure and scare folks in paying money, mostly as a scare tactic to avoid being arrested.  Remember, though, law enforcement officers are not going to call you to say you own money and require you to send it in.

Here are some other tips to avoid being a victim of a scam:

• If you feel you are being scammed or something doesn’t feel right when someone contacts you by phone, mail or e-mail, it probably is a scam.
• Hang up, and directly contact the agency that supposedly contacted you
• Or go by the agency headquarters to discuss the matter
• Never pay anything over the phone…unless you initiated the phone call and you are confident in the transaction and business with whom you are dealing
• Remember, like with other types of scams (someone calling to say you’ve won the sweepstakes or a new car…and all you have to do is pay a small processing fee), if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

As always, you can contact your Bossier Sheriff’s Office at (318) 965-2203 to report any scam or criminal activity.