GREENE COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Greene County Sheriff’s Department is warning people in the area about a scam that uses legitimate names of members of law enforcement and convincing background noises.
According to a post from the GCSD, the scammer tells victims they owe money related to a missed court date or jury duty, requiring them to pay nonexistent fines via prepaid cards.
“The caller sounds legitimate and even has a police scanner in the background and uses real officers’ names,” the post states. “They also provide a callback number that, when called, sounds like a legitimate automated GCSD system.”
The Sheriff’s Office says these calls are all scams as they will never contact residents asking for any type of payment. Anyone who receives one of these calls is instructed to hang up.
According to GCSD, the scam has been conducted for years in different parts of the country, but it has recently been targeting parts of East Tennessee like Greene and Cocke counties.
