The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office released information regarding scammers making calls claiming family members were incarcerated prompting citizens to send money for bond.
Last week, two additional scams were reported.
A case in Orion Township involving a 78-year-old woman resulted in her losing over $29,000 to scammers. This scam involved a call placed to the victim claiming to be an Amazon employee verifying the victim had purchased $8,000 in Apple products.
Additionally, the sheriff’s office received a voicemail stating the name of a former sergeant and needed the person to call them back immediately. The number left to call back was a 248 number but was not a number associated with the sheriff’s office.
“Scammers continue to evolve their tactics and try to find ways to outsmart citizens,” said Sheriff Michael Bouchard. “This year, the number of reports on scams has risen dramatically. As a reminder, law enforcement will never ask you to supply funds, use Bitcoin, or put money on gift cards to pay for services or fees over the phone.
“If something does not seem legitimate, trust your instinct, call your local law enforcement agency, and verify the claim with them first.”