York County sheriff seeing increase in law enforcement impersonator scams

YORK COUNTY, S.C. — More scammers are pretending to be with the York County Sheriff’s Office and tricking people out of their money.

Action 9 first warned you about this impersonation scam last month.

Now, the York County sheriff tells Channel 9′s Tina Terry that it’s getting out of control.

Sheriff Kevin Tolson says in just two months, York County citizens have been taken for more than $12,000.

Tolson says scammers are pretending to be his officers to try and get money.

“We have seen a recent uptick in people impersonating sheriff’s office employees,” Tolson told Channel 9.

Nearly 20 York County sheriff’s employees say scammers have impersonated them in an attempt to steal money from the public.

“They used my name twice,” said Property Crimes Sgt. Kevin Casey. “They said, ‘This is Sgt. Casey.’ He had a very heavy Southern accent, which clearly I do not.”

“They’ll call you and they’ll say, ‘I’m Deputy So-and-So or I’m Captain So-and-So with the York County Sheriff’s Office, and you have failed to report for jury duty and there’s now a warrant for your arrest,’” Tolson explained.

He says the scammer usually demands people pay them money via the Cash App or Venmo to avoid being arrested.

Tolson says his office recently called a number used by a scammer and when it stopped ringing you could hear a digital recording on the other end that sounded as if it was the sheriff’s office.

Last year, there were 12 cases of scammers impersonating officers. This year, there have already been seven cases and victims have lost more than $12,000.

Tolson says his employees would never ask for money over the phone and he’s warning people, especially the elderly, to be on guard.

“If you suspect it is a scam, hang up,” he said.

Tolson says you can call the real sheriff’s office at 803-628-3059 to find out if the call was real. They can also help you file a police report if needed.

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