WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio — The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about a phone scam in which a caller impersonating a sheriff’s sergeant is demanding money for a relative’s bond.
The sheriff’s office said in a post that two Fayette County residents recently reported receiving calls from a man identifying himself as “Sergeant William Bradshaw.” The office does not employ anyone by that name, according to the post.
The caller tried to get money from the residents, knew the names of their relatives and claimed the money was needed to post bond, the sheriff’s office said. Both calls came from a phone number with a Washington, D.C., area code.
The scam follows a pattern used nationally by callers who pose as law enforcement officers to pressure victims, often elderly residents, into believing a family member has been arrested and needs immediate cash or gift cards to be released.
The sheriff’s office said it will never call residents to ask for money or financial information over the phone, and it urged people not to give financial information or gift card numbers to anyone they do not know or trust.
Anyone who receives a suspicious call of this nature should hang up immediately and call the sheriff’s office’s Communications Center at 740-335-6170 to verify whether the call is legitimate, according to the post.
The sheriff’s office asked residents to share the warning to help protect friends and family members from falling victim to the scam.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.
