Story by Cale Colby
Sylvester Police Chief Kenneth Washington is once again reminding local residents to be aware of potential phone scams from fraudulent entities pretending to be the IRS or law enforcement. According tot he SPD chief, he has received reports of two local citizens who have received phone calls in recent days from a person claiming that the local residents owe money and will be arrested if they do not pay.
According to Washington, this activity always picks up this time of year, but he is especially concerned that elderly citizens will fall victim to this scam as a local women was duped last year and began paying the scammers through a Green Dot Debit Card.
The SPD Chief states that no official entity will threaten to arrest you by phone, even if you do actually owe money to the IRS or another source. And, the best thing residents can do is to simply hang up the phone. If you receive a threatening call like this, Washington says you can also report it to SPD at 776-8500, but the chief believes that as word spreads of this ongoing perennial scam, the calls will stop.
Most often, these scams involve gift cards or pre-paid debit card. Never offer to pay without first verifying the validity of the caller.