Beware of Scammers Claiming To Be Law Enforcement
By Wayne Ivey, Brevard County Sheriff // June 26, 2014
SCAMMER WILL ASK FOR A PREPAID MONEY CARD
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – As part of our on-going effort to help protect our citizens against scams I wanted to remind our community about a current scam that is being circulated throughout the country.
The scammer calls the victim and claims to be from a law enforcement agency.
The scammer informs the person who answers the phone that they failed to show up for jury duty or have failed to pay a traffic ticket.
Another version of the scam tells the victim that a child/grandchild is in jail and needs to bonded-out.
During the calls, the scammer will ask for a prepaid money card such as Greendot or Walmart Card to be purchased.
The caller then demands that the victim purchase the card and immediately provide the card number and security code over the phone.
The scammers will try to keep the victim on the telephone, threatening the victim with arrest or possible harm to their child/grandchild.
Citizens should be advised that law enforcement, Clerk of Court, or any other criminal justice entity would never call or email a victim in this manner.
Law Enforcement would never cancel a warrant or handle a true law enforcement matter in this capacity.
Citizens receiving any similar request should immediately contact their local law enforcement agency so that we can alert other potential or intended victims in the community and make every effort possible to apprehend the perpetrators.
Although similar warnings have been shared with communities throughout the country, many people still fall victim to this type of scam.
Please help us spread the word about this scam through social network by sharing this information with friends and family.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.
Prior to being elected in 2012, Sheriff Ivey served the citizens of the State of Florida as a Resident Agent in Charge for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. As a member of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Sheriff Ivey developed and created the country’s first ever statewide Task Force on Identity Theft.
That same year the Task Force was named one of the top five most innovative programs in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and investigated approximately 44 million dollars in fraud cases.
Additionally, as a member of FDLE, Sheriff Ivey created the Child Abduction Response Team (C.A.R.T) that re-defined the way Child Abduction cases are conducted throughout the country today.
The program was later selected as the most innovative program in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is now used as a nationwide model in the response and investigation of child abductions.
Sheriff Ivey has testified before the United States Congress on law enforcement related matters and has extensive experience in the area of Public Integrity Investigations. Sheriff Ivey was honored as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Special Agent of the Year (1996) and was also recognized by the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for his Outstanding Contributions to Criminal Justice.
In August of 2011 Sheriff Ivey was honored by the National Organization of Victims Advocacy for his work at the national level as an advocate of victim’s rights and protection.
Sheriff Ivey speaks regularly on topics such as Identity Theft, Crime in America, Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, and Self Defense through Mental Preparedness. Sheriff Ivey firmly believes that Crime Prevention and Education are vital to reduce our crime rate and protect our community.
