Someone is calling and impersonating a law officer

In a few days’ time, Oconee deputies counted four instances of someone using the telephone to demand money from an unsuspecting public.  The scammer, purporting to be a deputy sheriff, demands money to cover fines for bogus federal warrants.  No individual called lost money.  In each instance, the caller demands the money be placed on a pre-paid card.  In another recorded instance, someone calls claiming to be a family member in need of bond money and to pay for a public defender.  The person called sent money through a pre-paid card only to find out later that the family member was not in jail.  This victim lost around $9,500.  Law enforcement officers do not contact anyone stating arrest warrants will be recalled if someone pays a fine over the phone.  Jimmy Watt, public information officer for the Sheriff’s Office, says, “If you receive these calls in the future, we encourage you to save all phone numbers and information….Do not give out personal or financial information and do not put any money on prepaid cards.  Call your local law enforcement agency….”