Oconeean bilked out of $11,500

No one named Lt. Johnson works for the Oconee Sheriff’s Office.  That is one of the lessons learned from a scam that bilked an Oconeean.  It’s the hope of the county sheriff’s office that something like this never happens to you.  The sheriff’s office became aware that someone claiming to be “Lt. Johnson from the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office” tried to pull off a scam by telling the person he called that an arrest warrant had been created because a DNA had not been provided.  The scammer said he would accept $1,200 settle the matter.  Fortunately, there’s no indication that the money was sent. “As we have discussed in previous scam updates, legitimate law enforcement officers will not accept payment to have a warrant recalled or drop any lawfully obtained charges,” says Master Deputy Jimmy Watt, public information officer for the sheriff’s office. However, in another instance, an Oconeean was targeted by a scammer who claimed that her grandson was arrested in a Florida accident investigation and needed bail money.  The victim of this scam sent $6,500 cash to an address in Tampa.  But it got worse.  The next day the scam victim sent $5 thousand when someone called claiming to be her grandson’s attorney.  “In relation to Grandparents scams, we have advised previously that if you receive a phone call from a family member who say that they are in legal trouble, and they ask for money, hang up the phone and contact another family member to verify if that family member is indeed in legal trouble,” says Master Deputy Jimmy Watt.