SCAM ALERT
HAMMOND, LA - January 30, 2019 Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards is warning citizens about an ongoing phone scam making its way around the area.
Sheriff Edwards is urging local residents to remain aware after reports of a scam where a caller alleging to be law enforcement tells citizens a family member has been arrested and needs money to get out of jail. Victims are, most times, being instructed to send large sums of money in cash via FedEx and/or post office in order to secure the release of their presumably incarcerated family member. Please know that this is a scam. “This type of scheme is designed to play on your emotions and try to rush you into doing something spontaneous to help a loved one and get you to send funds,” Edwards says.
Members of the TPSO's Financial Crimes Unit stress to residents that this is NOT how law enforcement agencies conduct business. Bonds are typically arranged at the jail facility and normally facilitated by a reputable bonding company. Similar versions of this con involving scammers imitating law enforcement have been reported across the state and beyond in recent years and sometimes target the elderly with claims that the person’s grandchild is jailed.
If you receive a call and feel concerned, find a way to corroborate the story instead of sending money blindly. Ask the caller what agency they are with, then hang up and contact that agency with the correct phone number, not the one provided by the caller. Also if you can't get in touch with the relative, call the jail where they are supposedly confined.
Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office Financial Crimes Detectives can be reached at (985) 345-6150 or (985) 902.2088.
