Here's The Latest Phone Scam, Bartow Sheriff's Office Warns

BARTOW COUNTY, GA -- The Bartow County Sheriff’s Office is warning of a phone scam.

Police have reported that residents are receiving phone calls from people claiming to represent legitimate agencies such as law enforcement, Internal Revenue Service, Georgia Power, Social Security Administration, and similar organizations. They will then ask or demand payment in the form of gift cards such as Walgreen cards, CVS cards, Google Play cards, or I-Tune cards.

In most scenarios, the victim receives a phone call saying a relative is in trouble, a service will be terminated, or you have an active warrant. The scammer asks the victim to buy gift cards and take them to the nearest law enforcement agency to make the scam appear to be legitimate. However, prior to delivery to law enforcement the scammer will have obtained the gift card numbers from you.

The Bartow County Sheriff’s Office urges you not to be victimized. These scammers are persistent and will call you back multiple times.

This scam is being reported in several neighboring counties, as well as Bartow County.

Sadly, these scams are difficult to track and prosecute. If you fall victim to one of these scams, your best defense is to file an incident report and send a copy of it to your financial institution. The Bartow County Sheriff’s Office cannot guarantee reimbursement of funds. Reimbursement will be based solely on your bank policy.