Oktibbeha County Sheriff Steve Gladney wants residents to be aware of numerous phone scam schemes attempting to con money out of people’s bank accounts.
Gladney said his department is investigating numerous complaints of scammers posing as officials with the local circuit clerk’s office and the IRS.
Scammers are even falsely claiming to be affiliated with the Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department’s citations division — a non-existent department.
“It seems like these people are calling residents and saying they’ve missed jury duty, and a payment over the phone will get them out of trouble. Others said they were with the IRS and will sue over back taxes if they don’t go ahead and receive a payment,” he said. “We don’t even have a citations division, so we know that’s definitely a scam.”
Gladney said it appears some of the calls originated from Wisconsin and Illinois, but one call was placed within the local 662 area code.
Law enforcement agents are investigating whether scammers are able to spoof numbers — make it appear the calls came from legitimate locations — in their attempts to steal money and valuable identification.
“It seems these people are just trying to scare residents into giving out their most important information,” Gladney said. “The government doesn’t just call you up demanding money like this. We want people to be aware and vigilant. If you think you’ve been the target of a scam, report it.”
If you receive a call that could be a scam, Gladney said to call the agency in question and ask for mailed correspondence about the claim.
To report a scam attempt, call the OCSD at 662-323-2421.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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