Phone scam victim transferred $4,000 to cover nonexistent court fees

Another telephone scam is making the rounds. This one bilked a Franklin County woman out of $4,000 after she was told she needed to pay for missing a court appearance, said Sheriff Pat Melton.

As it turned out, the woman had no scheduled court date, but she transferred the money to a Green Dot card, a prepaid debit card. The scammer was then able to take the money when she relayed the card number to him by phone.

Melton said his office began receiving reports about the scam on Wednesday. Residents said they received a call from a “Deputy Stanley” saying that he was calling from the sheriff’s office. The residents were told that because they failed to attend a scheduled court appearance, they must pay a fine or a deputy will come and arrest them.

“No deputy will ever ask for money,” Melton said. “They’re targeting older people because they know they’re easy targets. They get upset, and the next thing you know, they’re wanting to pay it because they don’t want a deputy to come and arrest them.”

In August, a similar scam cost an 81-year-old Woodford County resident $4,000 taken from Apple iTunes gift cards. In that case, a caller who purported to be a deputy sheriff in North Carolina said the Woodford man’s grandson was being held on a charge of possession of marijuana, and that money needed to be posted for the grandson’s release.

Similar types of so-called “grandparent scams” have been reported in the past in Kentucky and across the nation.

This story was originally published November 10, 2016 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Phone scam victim transferred $4,000 to cover nonexistent court fees."