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An Editorial of The Greenville Advocate

In November 2022, scammers targeted residents of Butler and surrounding counties, impersonating the Butler County Sheriff’s Office to con victims by claiming to have arrest warrants for unpaid fines or failure to appear in court. As part of the effort, scammers threatened arrest if fees were not resolved with prepaid cards purchased during the phone call.

Lowndes County Sheriff’s investigators arrested another scammer last week, a young man who impersonated a young woman on Facebook to lure his 19-year-old Bibb County victim, who he later robbed and left abandoned on a rural Lowndes County road.

And just last week, organizers of The Festival at the Well in Luverne alerted the public that scammers were impersonating the organization, claiming to act as the group’s agent to solicit donations.

Now, more than ever, professionals and entrepreneurs are looking for work-from-home careers to create the perfect work/life balance. And while businesses around the world transitioned to a virtual rather than in-person workforce after COVID-19 hit in 2020, scams may be trending now as the hottest work-from-home career.

Scams are by no means new, but scammers who use technology to target their victims are among the latest con artists participating in lucrative deception schemes to victimize the unaware.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) reported in April that scammers have recently targeted sex offenders, coercing the offenders with requests for payment by phone to avoid arrest.

It seems that as the internet and technology allow scammers to expand their efforts and gain the personal information necessary for their scheme to sound believable, no one is safe from their attempts.

ALEA, the Alabama Attorney General’s office, and the Federal Communications Commission caution the public never to make payments or release personal information to callers attempting to collect money or data.

Persons receiving requests for money or personal information should instead call the publicly listed phone number for the agency or entity named by the caller to investigate the request.

Government agencies, including law enforcement offices, do not call to collect payment. If payment is needed, law enforcement agencies will direct citizens to pay in person.

For information on known phone scams, visit www.fcc.gov or call your local law enforcement agency.