Anderson County sheriff warns of telephone scams

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office is putting out a warning about a telephone scam that is again circulating in Knox County. The caller pretends to be a sheriff’s deputy or court official and says that the person has an outstanding warrant, didn’t report for jury duty, or has a failure to appear, and that it can be taken care of with a certain amount of money. He then says the money can be transferred to the caller with a Greet Dot card, prepaid credit card, or to meet and bring the “cash bond.”

This same scam occurred earlier in the year in our area, including Anderson County, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said. So far, no new cases have been reported in Anderson County, but the scam appears to target residents in all of our area counties.

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department wants the public to know that the Sheriff’s Department and the Clerk’s Office do not make phone calls on such matters.

“If calls of this nature are received, this is a scam,” White said.

He said many of these scams use various law enforcement or court officials’ real names such as the chief deputy or the court clerk. The sheriff warned residents to not give out personal information over the phone or forward any money.

“If anyone receives such a call, please contact your local law enforcement agency,” White said.