Jackson County Residents Receiving Up to 30 Scam Calls Daily – Sheriff’s Office Calls for Vigilance

JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. — Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) is taking up to 30 calls a day from residents scammed by callers pretending to be JCSO deputies and requesting money in cash, credit, wire, Crypto, or Bitcoin.

Several residents have believed that the caller was authentic and followed instructions.

Scammers are Posing as JCSO Deputies

The callers are posing as Sergeant David Miller or Sergeant Matt Hagert.

“Please note that JCSO does not have any sergeants of that name, and it is a scam,” warns the law enforcement unit in a Facebook post.

JCSO says it is receiving 20 to 30 reports daily from recipients of scam calls, warning that the scammers are spoofing the JCSO phone number, making the calls seem legitimate.

The JCSO post also warns that the callers can change the name and rank of deputies.

Reasons Given by Scammers

Readers are asked to note the reasons given by the scammers:

• You have skipped Grand Jury, Jury Duty, or a Jury Summons
• You have a Warrant
• A legal matter from the Civil/Warrant Division
• You have paperwork

Red Flag Warning

Unless someone is under active investigation, the JCSO rarely contacts people by phone.

Readers are asked to share this information with friends and family.

If you believe you have received a call from a scammer and need to confirm its authenticity, call the JCSO at 541-774-6800.

Over 56 Million Americans Are Scammed of $25 Billion Annually

Phone scams are relentless. A staggering 56.2 million people – or 21% of the population – are conned every year by scammers and spammers adept at navigating around new regulations and laws, according to a Truecaller blog.

In an article titled America Under Attack – the shifting landscape of spam and spam calls, Truecaller says the results of its 2024 Spam and Scam survey reflect the “evolution of criminal communications fraud and the mixed success of regulators, enforcement agencies, and carriers in mitigating ‘robocall’ volumes and consumer financial losses.”

Americans are scammed of $25 billion annually and most of those defrauded can least afford it, according to the report.

Ominous Warning

In the blog, Truecaller says that between “increasingly sinister social engineering capabilities and leveraging AI tools to shape, script, and deliver fraudulent calls and messages,” they believe 2024 will see the introduction of “precision-targeted” spearfishing campaigns.

The blog warns that spearfishing campaigns are “surgical strikes” potentially more effective than the “brute force mass out-dialing techniques of the past.”

Access Free Scam-Blocking App

You can access the report at: https://tclr.se/3PhMC9Q

Truecaller is a free AI spam-blocking app available on the Google Play Store.