PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT ~BEWARE OF SCAMS~

THE EVANGELINE PARISH SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND SHERIFF CHARLES R. GUILLORY ARE REMINDING THE PUBLIC TO BE VIGILANT AND REMAIN AWARE OF ON-GOING SCAMS.

Recently, the Evangeline Parish Sheriff's Office received information from the public, regarding a new scam that unfortunately has found its way to the residents of Evangeline Parish, via the internet.

This scam involves a "pop-up" type message appearing to internet users providing a phone number, and directing you to immediately contact "Apple Security", regarding a fraudulent purchase that was made from your account.

Upon calling the number that was provided in the pop-message, a seemingly legitimate Apple representative will provide their credentials, such as: their name, badge, or ID number, case number, etc. The scammer will then notify you that a purchase, for a large sum of money, was fraudulently made from your account.

The scammer will then transfer you to a secondary party, who claims to be an employee of your bank/financial institution.

The "bank employee" (scammer) will notify you of the account of this fraudulent purchase, instruct you to withdraw the same amount of money from your bank account, and deposit the funds into a crypto-currency (bitcoin) machine using a QR code.

 

Should you receive any message like this, do not follow any instructions given. Contact your financial institution to inquire about any unauthorized or suspicious transactions.

TIPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF:

* If an unknown individual contacts you about fraudulent purchases or activity, do not release any personal identifiable or financial  information and do not send any money. Cease any further contact with the individual.

* Contact from a seemingly official phone number is not proof of an official business. Scammers may use technology to disguise or "spoof" the actual number they are calling from to appear as a trusted number.

* If you are contacted by any government agency for an allegedly official purpose, you may verify the contact is official by 

1. Using public sources (phone book, internet etc.) to identify the government agency's contact information

2. Directly contacting the agency to confirm they legitimacy of the interaction