I have received complaints from county residents about being contacted by phone from individuals claiming they are from major credit card companies and offering to lower interest rates on credit cards. Also, residents are being contacted by out of state contractors who are offering to do construction work but are needing a cash payment up front. I have looked back in the archives of my scam e-mails over the years and am posting my information from July 2011 as it still applies today. The same scams are circulating almost 9 years to the day:
The Brown County Sheriffs office has had more reports of scams circulating the county. Several reports are of credit card companies who are contacting card holders and offering them lower interest rates or incentives. The people are then asked to provide their credit card number for verification to the caller. When questions are asked of the callers, they have been hanging up. We are reminding county residents not to give out personal information over the phone.
Another area of concern are calls from an out of state contractor who is telling callers that he will be traveling through our area. They are contacting people by telephone and informing residents they have a surplus of materials such as roofing material, siding etc. and for a sum of approximately $500 they will hold the material and use it at the customers home at below cost. They have requested bank account information or credit card numbers from residents. I urge anyone who is interested in doing business to ask for phone numbers and references from satisfied customers of contractors who are not known. Reputable contractors should be able to provide such information to potential customers. And as a reminder——-DO NOT GIVE OUT PERSONAL INFORMATION OVER THE PHONE
We are very fortunate to have residents in Brown County who pass information on to the Sheriffs office so we can alert people of the latest scams. By working together we can help keep our county safer and I would like to thank everyone who helps us in this effort.
Sheriff John Merchant
