The Jefferson County sheriff's office issued a fraud warning that scammers are apparently pretending to be law enforcement officers and calling residents to get their money.
The sheriff's office was recently made aware that there have been numerous phone calls made in attempts to defraud citizens of funds, according to a news release.
It has been reported that the scam callers are claiming to be law enforcement officers and in some cases are using actual local law enforcement officers' names from the Jefferson County sheriff's office and Pine Bluff Police Department.
These criminals are claiming that a court date or jury selection has been missed and a warrant has been or will be issued unless the person pays a fine.
The caller then directs the citizen to go and purchase a Green Dot prepaid credit card or other similar prepaid credit card/gift card in order to avoid being arrested. They then arrange a meeting place to get the payment, according to the release.
"We will in no case ask that a citizen pay any fine by credit card, PayPal, CashApp, etc." said Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr. "We do not conduct this type of business over the telephone and citizens should be very cautious not to provide any personal or financial details over the telephone."
"If a person thinks that they owe a fine or has an inquiry about a warrant of arrest they should contact our office in person at 410 East 2nd Avenue, Pine Bluff, AR," Woods said.
One of the numbers that the reported scammers have called from is out of Hope (870-397-7274). Often these criminals use "burner" phones and the numbers that they call from may change frequently to avoid detection.
TIPS TO AVOID SCAMS
• Don't answer a call from number you do not recognize. Let it go to voice mail and then listen to it later.
• Robo-callers are used to verify that your number is a working number, which opens you up to receiving other scam calls.
• If you do answer and it's a robo-caller or believe it to be a scam, just hang up without saying anything. Don't press any buttons or give any information.
As an additional reminder, the Jefferson County sheriff's office will never:Call to demand immediate payment over the telephone.
• Call or email you to verify your identity by asking for personal or financial information.
• Ask for your credit or debit card numbers over the telephone or email.
• Demand that you meet someone to make a payment away from the window at the administrative offices.
To report fraud calls of this type, contact the non-emergency dispatch, Metropolitan Emergency Communications Association, at (870) 541-5300, or the sheriff's office's Criminal Investigation Division at (870) 541-5496.
Also, the Arkansas Attorney General's Office has resources and additional tips that can be found at https://arkansasag.gov/consumer-protection by emailing consumer@ArkansasAG.gov, or by calling (800) 482-8982.