Sheriff issues scam warning

The Alexander County Sheriff’s Office has received an increase in phone calls regarding scams, according to a Feb. 26 press release. Most scam calls are targeted at senior citizens, and are received both through landlines and cellular phones.

The most recent scam calls came into the office on February 26, 2020.  The caller identifies himself as Detective Wade with the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office and then attempts to collect money from the victim in reference to a bench warrant for missing jury duty. Sheriff Bowman would like the citizens to be aware that there is currently no Detective Wade employed with the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office, and that no member of the Sheriff’s Office would contact a citizen by telephone in reference to a bench warrant for missing jury duty.

Other scams that are circulating the area are in reference to various government agencies calling and asking for verification on victim’s social security numbers.  These agencies include but are not limited to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Social Security Administration. Again, these agencies will never contact you by telephone and ask you to verify your identity.

Sheriff Bowman would also like to make the public aware of a scam involving a Publishers Clearing House type of action.  The caller will inform the victim that they have won a large sum of money or vehicle, but will request a sum of money be sent to them initially before releasing the prize.  This type of call is also a scam and no funds should be transferred to the caller.

Sheriff Bowman would like to remind the citizens of Alexander County to be alert and vigilant when giving out personal or banking information via telephone. Many times, these scams originate from other countries, and prosecuting these individuals is virtually impossible through the District Attorneys’ Office. Sheriff Bowman would like to thank the callers who have made him aware of these ongoing scams so that we can better inform other citizens to be cautious about giving out private and personal information.