FLORENCE, S.C. (WBTW) – The Florence County Sheriff’s Office wants you to be aware of a phone scam that could could cost you or someone you love.
Garrett Pridgen says he has no idea how his phone got into the wrong hands, or even where the scammers are calling from. But when scammers call, like they did multiple times in the last week to Garrett’s cell phone, he says it rarely takes them long to get to the point.
“It sounds almost like an audio recording; they tell me I owe X amount of dollars to some random corporation,” Pridgen recalls. “I have no idea what they’re talking about.”
Sandra Gamby, the interim CEO of the Coastal Carolina Better Business Bureau, says these types of scams are nothing new.
“They will threaten to put you in jail,” Gamby warns. “They want you to go get a gift card and send them money.”
She says while it seems many people are called, the elderly are most at risk of falling victim to these types of scams.
“Our senior citizen population is very accustomed to just picking up the phone,” Gamby said. “When people are alone and lonely, they could be targeted and not ever report it so they are just quietly scammed out of their money.”
Most agree that communicating with elderly relatives can most often help them avoid getting scammed.
“It’s good to have a conversation with your parents,” Gamby said. She recommends giving them information that will breed confidence to recognize a scammer and hang up the phone.
“As soon as the conversation turns that way hang up the phone,” she said. “The IRS will never correspond through the phone with you they will only do it by mail; they will never threaten to arrest an individual.”
The Better Business Bureau has a tool to help you fight scammers and warn others at the same time. To report a scam, click here to access the BBB’s ScamTracker.
In addition, the Florence County Sheriff’s Office recommends that you block any unknown numbers that call and just be mindful of offers that sound strange or too good to be true. If your gut tells you something is off, you are probably right.
