Staff Reports

The Effingham County Sheriff Department is warning residents about a phone scam that appears to come from the Sheriff Department.

 “It has been brought to our attention that a scam using the Effingham County Sheriff's Office phone number and personnel names is circulating throughout Effingham County,” the department said in a press release.

“We've received over a dozen calls since Wednesday afternoon (July 19) from people claiming to have had calls from our deputies and even our Chief Deputy asking them to send money in a certain amount of time on a pre-paid card or face jail time. Many said the number that called came up as the Sheriff's Office number,” the release continued.

The Sheriff Department added that it knows at least $6,000 has been paid out.

The Sheriff Department never asks for payments over the phone.

“As a general rule, the Sheriff’s Office does not discuss or take care of warrants over the phone and if we have an active warrant, it will be served in-person by a uniformed deputy,” the department said in its statement.
“If you receive a phone call of this manner, do not follow the instructions given. Hang up and immediately call the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office at 912-754-3449,” the release concluded.