MOUNT VERNON — The Knox County Sheriff’s Office has issued an urgent public awareness alert regarding a recent increase in reports of a phone scam designed to intimidate residents into sending money under the threat of arrest.
How the scam works
Scammers are using increasingly sophisticated tactics to deceive victims:
• The caller falsely identifies themselves as a deputy with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.
• They claim you have missed a legal proceeding and that a warrant has been issued for your arrest.
• The caller will text or send a fake court document that appears to be issued by the United States District Court, falsely listing the Honorable Judge Wetzel as the authorizing authority.
• They may also send a fraudulent “mobile contact order” stating that you are not allowed to tell anyone about the situation. This is a manipulation tactic.
• The caller directs you to go to a kiosk or payment location and make an immediate payment to avoid being taken into custody.
• They attempt to keep you on the phone to prevent you from verifying the information.
IMPORTANT: THIS IS A SCAM
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office, local courts, and federal courts will never call you to demand payment, threaten immediate arrest, require you to use a kiosk or gift card-style payment system, or order you not to speak to anyone about a court matter.
Any such call is fraudulent.
If you receive this call:
• Do NOT send money.
• Do NOT provide personal or financial information.
• Hang up immediately.
• Do NOT click any links or open attachments sent by the caller.
• Report the incident to:
• Your local law enforcement agency
• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at reportfraud.ftc.gov
The sheriff’s office encourages residents to share this information with family members, friends, neighbors, and vulnerable community members. Awareness is one of the strongest tools in preventing scams.