Buckingham County Sheriff William G. “Billy” Kidd Jr. has issued a warning concerning what he terms “a scam that has claimed some area victims in the last couple of weeks.”
According to Kidd, the caller “will pretend to be a friend or family member that you haven’t seen in a while and will claim to be in trouble with the law. The caller will then request a substantial amount of money that is required to post bail.”
Kidd said in some cases, “they will put another party on the phone to pretend to be an arresting officer to re-state the amount needed. You will then be instructed to go to an area store to purchase what is called a green dot card or a gift card and call the scammers back and read him the numbers from the card. The moment you read these numbers to the scammers, they have effectively stolen your money.”
“This is not a new scam,” Kidd said, “but apparently, it has been successfully resurrected. Please remember when someone asks you to pay for items, services or fines using this type of payment, you are more than likely dealing with a criminal.”
Those who’ve felt they’ve fallen victim should call the Buckingham County Sheriff’s Office at (434) 969-1772.