Scam Alert for Newberry County Residents

Scam artists are using obituaries and other public records to find names of the family members of their victims. The scam artist then calls and pretends to be a family member. They claim to either be sick or crying so their voice sounds funny. They then say they are in jail and need money to get out of jail.

Sometimes a second scam artist gets on the telephone and pretends to be a police officer and demands the money right away. The scam artist tells the victim that they are under a gag order and should not tell anyone what they are doing or why they need the money.

The victim is then directed to get pre-paid credit cards, wire transfers, or money orders from stores and send them to the scam artists. The money or cards are usually sent outside of the country or to an address inside United States that forwards outside the country.

This is a scam.

Do not send anyone money even if they claim to be a family member. Law enforcement will not endorse someone’s need for money and law enforcement does not accept wired money or pre-paid credit cards for bond money.

Law enforcement also does not have the authority to place anyone under a gag order. The purpose of this is to attempt to keep the victim from telling anyone about what is happening so that no one can explain that this is a scam.

If you have any questions about something that is occurring, call law enforcement immediately.