OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - There's a new twist in a scam where callers pose as law enforcement trying to get an immediate payment, according to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.
In this case, callers are targeting the families that really had a loved one incarcerated in the Oakland County Jail, claiming to be "Sgt. Franklin" contacted as recently as Sunday.The money is asked to get their loved one out of jail.
The sheriff's office says there is no Sgt. Franklin, and even if there were, he or she would never contact make a phone call or text asking for money in exchange for any service.
In each instance, the phony sergeant tells the unsuspecting person that he can get a loved one of theirs out of jail if they post bond through him using Bitcoin and a QR code that he provides, and a phone number to call.
Sheriff Michael Bouchard says if it happens to you, ignore it or hang up. Investigators believe scammers are doing their homework by checking the list of jail inmates which is publicly available information online and then connecting them to a family member through additional research.
In one instance, the scammer texted the mother of an inmate, saying her son was in jail and claiming he wanted to speak with her about certain conditions her son would have while on bond.
The mother then spoke to the scammer on the phone, who instructed her to withdraw $1,200 from her bank and go to a food mart in Troy.
The scammer then gave her detailed instructions over the phone how to send the money using a Bitcoin machine. Once the transaction was completed, the scammer stopped responding to her text messages. She later found out her son was released from jail prior to the transaction.
In another two other instances, the victims showed up at the county jail with receipts from their transaction with the scammers, believing they had legitimately paid the bond.
They were told by jail deputies the Sheriff’s Office only takes cash bonds at the jail bonding window. In all, the four victims paid a total of $6,400 to the scammers.