[The Gazette]

A Sumter County Sheriff’s Office employee’s social media communication account has been hacked. The hacker is currently trying to solicit funds from people online posing as someone from the department. If you receive any message asking for funds, do not respond and disregard the message. No employee from the sheriff’s office will ever reach out

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[Cincinnatus]

Scammers are becoming increasingly devious. I recently encountered one who had created a fake Facebook profile claiming to be a Villages resident.

[lynnschindel]

I recently received an email, ostensibly from my former church in NJ. It seems the secretary needed me to send a $400 gift card for her friend (who has cancer and can't get out) to help her daughter who was stranded in some vague way. Right. I'll get right on that.

Sheesh! How stupid do these scammers think we are??

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by lynnschindel

I recently received an email, ostensibly from my former church in NJ. It seems the secretary needed me to send a $400 gift card for her friend (who has cancer and can't get out) to help her daughter who was stranded in some vague way. Right. I'll get right on that.

Sheesh! How stupid do these scammers think we are??

If people did not make the donation they would stop.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by lynnschindel

I recently received an email, ostensibly from my former church in NJ. It seems the secretary needed me to send a $400 gift card for her friend (who has cancer and can't get out) to help her daughter who was stranded in some vague way. Right. I'll get right on that.

Sheesh! How stupid do these scammers think we are??

We're targets, no doubt about it: not just of scammers but of (semi) legitimate merchants as well.

[CooperDupper]

Yeah, i was just contacted by 'someone from the Sheriff department in PA where I moved from 1.5 years ago. They stated i had a bench and arrest warrant from not participating in jury duty there, and needed to go to the Sumter Sheriff office. But first, i needed to pay them the o/s warrants amounting to 3K + but it would be easily reimbursed. I hung up the phone, of course.

[Dusty_Star]

Originally Posted by CooperDupper

Yeah, i was just contacted by 'someone from the Sheriff department in PA where I moved from 1.5 years ago. They stated i had a bench and arrest warrant from not participating in jury duty there, and needed to go to the Sumter Sheriff office. But first, i needed to pay them the o/s warrants amounting to 3K + but it would be easily reimbursed. I hung up the phone, of course.

That one is scary, especially since a jury duty notice could get lost in the mail during the move. In my experience the mail forwarding system works, but not perfectly.

[ThirdOfFive]

I may have shared this incident before...if so, my apologies.

About five years back, still up in Minnesota, we had a salesman stop by. I was working in the garden at the time so my wife answered the door. Guy told her that he was representing a home security company offering complete alarm systems, installed, for half the price of new (last year's model or something along those lines). Only thing was that it was a one-day-only offer and it would have to be installed that day (Saturday).

My wife called me from the garden and relayed what the salesman had told her, the sales guy interjecting bits of information here and there. I looked at the salesman and said very seriously and slowly "I have security. .38 caliber security. My wife, too".

If that sales guy had left any quicker he'd have been running.

[Dusty_Star]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

I may have shared this incident before...if so, my apologies.

About five years back, still up in Minnesota, we had a salesman stop by. I was working in the garden at the time so my wife answered the door. Guy told her that he was representing a home security company offering complete alarm systems, installed, for half the price of new (last year's model or something along those lines). Only thing was that it was a one-day-only offer and it would have to be installed that day (Saturday).

My wife called me from the garden and relayed what the salesman had told her, the sales guy interjecting bits of information here and there. I looked at the salesman and said very seriously and slowly "I have security. .38 caliber security. My wife, too".

If that sales guy had left any quicker he'd have been running.

Great story, thanks for posting it.