Top Stories

Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office Sees Rise in Telephone Scams

by The Berkeley Observer
BCSO reminds the public that automatic calls are not used to make contact about a case

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.–The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office has seen a recent rise in telephone scams.

The current scam that is targeting our residents is a scam involving Social Security. People have reported they will receive a phone call from a robotic voice identifying themselves as an Agent of the Social Security System and will inform the victim there is a problem with their Social Security Number.

The robotic voice will come up with some various problem with the person’s social security number that will cause their number to be “shut down” and an arrest will be coming soon if they do not clear the problem up.

The message will demand the victim return their call at the number calling. When the victim calls back, the operator will ask them direct questions about their identity and identifiers such as their Social Security Number, name and date of birth, just to “confirm their identity”. Then, they will demand money from the victim. Not only do they now have money from the victim, they also have personal information which may be used in future identity theft schemes.

How can you stay protected? The keys to identifying this scam before becoming a victim are:

  • The short time span for the victim to reply is always a key element. The scammer will always attempt to pressure the victim into giving out personal information and acting quickly before they can think about the Scam and realize why it is suspicious.
  • The IRS and Social Security Administration do not make calls like this. They will always send correspondence via the US Mail directing the affected party to contact their local Office for more information.
  • There is no court or Governmental agency that accepts Google Play Cards, Bitcoin, Amazon Gift Cards, Western Union or any form of payment other than credit card, cash or check paid to the court at their proper and known location during regular business hours.

Remember, The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office DOES NOT use robot calling for their correspondence with suspects in a case. If there is any doubt in a situation, a victim can always call for a Deputy or Officer from their local jurisdiction to come to them and make inquiries about the call.

Comments are closed.