Phone scammers impersonating internet service providers

The Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office is advising residents to notify the office if they believe they have been contacted by a phone scammer. 

Many organizations conduct business by phone and many residents use this convenience to pay bills and set up accounts, but SCSO Corporal Dan Hilsabeck told listeners during an appearance on Sheridan Media’s Public Pulse, that he doesn’t know of one business or organization that accepts gift cards as a form of payment. 

Hilsabeck advised the public on a new phone scam that uses the names of internet providers to convince potential victims to play along and pay a non-existent over due bill. The scam is sophisticated, using purchased customer information, the scammers inform the victim they must pay the bill or they will turn off their internet services. 

Should the scammer convince the victim to pay the money, scammers will give a tell-tale sign by asking for payment in the form of gift cards or wire transfers. 

Wire transfers and gift cards provide the scammers with funds through virtually untraceable means. And with many of the scammers being based overseas, recovering the money is very unlikely. 

Hilsabeck advises residents to hang up the phone and call the Sheriff’s Office. It is advisable to inform the Sheriff’s Office if the scammers managed to get any form of information from the victim, so action can be taken to protect the victim’s accounts. 

According to the global business data platform, statista.com, scam calls in the United States caused a total loss of approximately $19.7 billion in 2020. Results from an online survey conducted by The Harris Poll show the amount of money lost by Americans in 2020 increased with $9.2 billion compared to 2019 and is the most amount of money lost due to scam calls in the period between 2014 and 2020. 

If you or a loved one have been the victims of phone scammers, notify the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office at 307-672-3455.