Wayne County Sheriff warns of latest round of scams hitting unsuspecting victims
DETROIT (FOX 2) - The Wayne County Sheriff's Office is imploring people to be vigilant during the holidays and weary of any threatening calls demanding they send them money.
The warning comes after one case where a sheriff's deputy was on patrol when a vehicle went speeding down the road. When the officer pulled them over, he found a frantic woman screaming "don’t arrest me. I have the money."
He answered her concerns with a question: "Ma'am, what are you talking about?"
"She didn’t have a warrant, she’d never been involved in law enforcement, a college graduate from U of M," said Sheriff Raphael Washington.
The victim had just gotten a call from a convincing voice demanding she withdraw $14,000 from the bank and deliver it to a secure location. It's a call that Washington said isn't genuine - but definitely on the rise.
"We just want people to know that law enforcement will never call you on the phone to say you need to give us this money," he said.
A recent increase in scam calls is prompting both the sheriff's office and other law enforcement to sound the alarm.
"They’re so convincing and they keep you on the phone, and badger you and make you think this is actually law enforcement talking to you and what you have to do right now," Washington said.
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"If you receive a call like this hang up immediately," Jarvis said. "This is a scam. No government agency will contact you to solicit that type of information."
New technology is making the calls appear even more convincing too. Artificial intelligence has made it even easier to imitate someone else's voice. If a call sounds suspicious, investigators say to hang up - no matter how challenging it may be.