Oconeean out $4,500 to a scammer

In the latest reported scam in which a criminal duped an Oconee resident out of money was reported to the county sheriff’s office on Friday. The victim deposited $ 4,500 into a Bitcoin ATM and was duped by someone who called and claimed to be “Sgt. Dale Evans” with the sheriff’s office.  The victim was threatened with a federal ar rest warrant and told he needed to pay up.  According to what the sheriff’s office learned, the caller spoofed the office non-emergency line.  The scammer’s victim complied with the caller’s directive to deposit the money because the call emanated from the official non-emergency line. “As we have stated previously,” said Master Deputy Jimmy Watt, “law enforcement agencies will not request money to either drop charges, have a warrant recalled or as a way to prevent arrest.”