Oakland County Sheriff Michael J. Bouchard is reminding citizens to be cautious regarding individuals who participate in scams especially around the holiday season.
The Sheriff’s Office has received reports of residents receiving phone calls where the caller impersonates a family member claiming to be incarcerated and is in need of money to pay their bond.
The callers have been tearful and plead with the call recipient to speak with an attorney on a follow-up phone call to send bond money. A follow-up phone call has been received in these cases from an alleged attorney. The call recipients found the calls to be suspicious and when pressed for additional information the caller hung up.
“Unfortunately, this year has many down on their luck and some choose to take advantage of good-natured citizens to extort and scam money from them,” said Bouchard. “Please use common
sense and check other systems to verify what any suspicious caller may be saying. Look out for your loved ones, especially senior citizens, who are especially susceptible to become a victim of these predatory tactics.”