Law enforcement warns of scam calls made from inside prisons

WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — The Houston County Sheriff’s Office warns of widespread scam calls coming from Georgia inmates, and their accomplices, posing as law enforcement.

In a news release, HCSO says many of the people making these scam calls are in the Georgia prison system, using smuggled phones and help from the outside. Scammers will call their target, pretend to work for a local law enforcement agency, and tell the victim that they have a warrant out for their arrest. The scammer may even create a fake arrest warrant with the victim’s name attached. Often, the fake warrant will say the victim missed a court date.

Then, the caller claims the target can avoid being arrested by paying a fee. The sheriff’s office says scammers will use a few methods to get the payment. Victims may receive a QR code or bar code, instructions to buy gift cards, or be told to buy crypto currency.

If you get a call like this, hang up and call your local law enforcement agency. Some callers may use publicly available information, like the name and titles of real officers, to seem legitimate. The sheriff’s office stresses that law enforcement will never contact you this way or accept cash payments instead of serving an arrest warrant.

Law enforcement and the Better Business Bureau have recently warned of similar scams. The BBB says to keep an eye out for jury duty scams, which can also appear to come from law enforcement agencies or 911 call centers.

Anyone who believes they may have been targeted or victimized is encouraged to file a report with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.