LUMBERTON — No day is good for a Scam Alert, but the day before Thanksgiving?
“Criminal scam artists are at it again,” said Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins in a social media post on Wednesday. “Residents throughout the county, including the towns and city, are receiving calls from a person identifying themselves as a Robeson County Deputy Sheriff.”
Wilkins said criminals are also spoofing their phone number to look as if they are calling from the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office. “Oftentimes the caller will offer to hang up and allow you to call them back at the spoofed number,” Wilkins said. “But again, it’s not the actual agency you are calling.”
The caller usually explains there is an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in court or failing to appear for jury duty as part of the “jury duty scam,” according to Wilkins.
“Then during the conversation, they explain the process of using online portals, providing barcodes, requesting you purchase paycards, use Bitcoin and kiosks as a means of obtaining payment to avoid a felony warrant,” Wilkins said. The criminal justice system, including law enforcement agencies anywhere in North Carolina, does not work like that.
“DO NOT entertain the conversation,” Wilkins said. “Simply HANG UP.
“Sadly, several people in our county have fallen victim to this criminal activity over the last few days,” Wilkins said. “Please don’t become a victim of this scam.”
David Kennard is the executive editor of the Robesonian. Reach him by email at dkennard@robesonian.com.
