ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) — The Isle of Wight County Sheriff’s Office is sounding the alarm about a new scam that’s targeting its residents.
The Sheriff’s Office says this latest scam involves an impersonation of one of their own. Capt. Tommy Potter with the IOW County Sheriff’s Office said scammers are pretending to be actual deputies to try and swindle people out of money.
“We have a Sgt. Cornwell who works here for the Sheriff’s Office, and individuals were getting a call from someone saying they were Sgt. Tom Cornwell,” Potter said. “Well, that’s not our sergeant’s first name, but they were using his last name.”
Potter said a number of residents have reached out saying they got this scam call.
“They were telling people that they had missed court, they had missed jury duty, some type of court action,” Potter said, “and because of that, the judge had issued a bench warrant for their arrest, and that they could satisfy that by paying sums of money.”
Potter explained that the scammer would even send a text message with a copy of a court summons with the potential victim’s name on it.
“These scams are set up to frighten and to scare and intimidate individuals, and so they unfortunately pay the money thinking that they’re in trouble with the courts,” Potter said.
Potter added that the most common victims of scams are older residents. He urged people to be extra vigilant and pay attention to any red flags.
“Law enforcement is never going to call you and demand money because you miss court,” Potter said. “They’re not going to send you a text message with a copy of a court document with your name on it with associated fines.”
He said no one fell for the scam, but that’s because people called the Sheriff’s Office to see if it was real. He urged everyone else to do the same if something ever seems off.
“Pick up the phone call and say, ‘I got this call, I received this email, I got this text,’ and let us have a conversation with you,” Potter said. “A two or three minute conversation will save you hours, if not days, and weeks of heartache and trouble.”