Scam artists use jail ruse to bilk Pee Dee residents out of cash

What would you do if you got a call that a friend or family member was in jail and needed bail money?

Most people would immediately begin making arrangements to get bond money for the loved one, but in light of an ongoing phone scam that already has bilked local residents out of thousands of dollars, law enforcement officials say Pee Dee residents should be leery.

Florence police first learned of the scam a few weeks ago when a lady called to report she had received a call about an employee of hers being in jail. The caller identified himself as an employee of the Florence County Detention Center, identified the employee in question by name and told the woman she needed to wire several hundred dollars to get her employee out of jail, Florence Police Maj. Carlos Raines said.

“Being a caring person and wanting to help her employee, the woman wired the money like the caller said she needed to,” Raines said. “Just minutes after she did, the employee came walking into work. She’d never been arrested, and the woman realized the person who’d just called her wasn’t from the jail. By that time, the money was gone.”

Not long after that incident, a local couple notified police about a similar situation. But in this case, the caller told the couple their grandson had been in a car wreck, was in jail out of state and needed bail money. The caller identified their grandson by name, so the couple immediately wired several thousand dollars to the location they were instructed to send it. Soon after, they called their grandson, who informed them he hadn’t been in an accident or in jail, Raines said.

“Again, at that point, the money was already sent,” Raines said.

Anyone who gets a similar call from a person identifying him or herself as a Florence County Detention Center employee should immediately be skeptical, as FCDC officers do not make phone calls on behalf of inmates, Florence County Sheriff’s Capt. Mike Nunn said.

“Our inmates are allowed phone calls. We would never make a phone call about bail money on an inmate’s behalf,” Nunn said. “So if someone gets such a call, under no circumstances would we recommend they send any money anywhere. In fact, we’d ask that they take down any numbers or locations they are given and call us and report it. We’d love to know the numbers these calls came from and who these people say they are.”

Raines agreed and said with so much personal information, such as family members’ names and locations, now available on the Internet, people should always ask questions before sending money anywhere.

“If someone calls you and says a family member is in jail, first call that family member to verify that what is being said is true,” Raines said.

“If you can’t reach the family member, find out what jail the person is supposed to be in, then get the number to that jail from the operator or a phone book -- not the number the person calling gives you --and call to verify,” he said. “If you can’t find that number or don’t know what to do, call us or your local law enforcement agency. We’d be more than happy to help you sort this stuff out before you’ve lost money and it’s too late.”