Sheriff’s department issues several scam alerts

Dubois County residents reported two separate incidents involving scammers to the Dubois County Sheriff’s Department on Friday.

In one, a resident was contacted by a man saying his name was Mike John Henry and he was a representative with Publishers Clearing House. The caller stated the resident had won $5.2 million and to claim the money, the resident would have to send an undetermined amount of money through Western Union to what was later determined to be a Western Union in Jamaica.

After the resident did not receive the money, the resident contacted Publishers Clearing House and was advised of the scam.

In another incident, a resident reported a relative received a call from a male subject stating a grandchild was injured in an accident and was then placed in jail. The caller stated the grandchild’s bond was $4,000 and needed to be paid with a Green Dot prepaid credit card.

The caller stated they would call back to receive the card number from the resident to pay the grandchild’s bond.

Fortunately, a relative intervened before the resident followed through with any of the callers requests.

The Dubois County Sheriff’s Department does not call relatives of incarcerated individuals asking for a bond to be posted for anyone. A person can post bond Monday through Friday from 8 a.m to 4 p.m. at the Dubois County Clerk’s Office at the courthouse. Bonds can also be posted at Dubois County Security Center Monday through Friday after 4 p.m. and on the weekends.

The sheriff’s department advises that if an individual receives a call that a family member is in jail, they should ask for the contact for the city, county and state where the facility is located to confirm the information. Contact the local police to assist in determining if the information is true.

The sheriff’s department reported there are many varieties of telephone scams. The calls can be received by anyone but scammers tend to prey on the elderly. Authorities recommend the best response to these call is to simply say “no thanks” and hang up.

If the caller says you received a prize but you have to send in money to receive it, it is not a prize. It is a purchase.

Residents are advised to never give out their personal information, date of birth, social security number, bank account numbers, routing numbers or credit card numbers.

Scammers will also have a little bit of your information and to receive the rest of it, they will ask you to repeat it in a conversation.

More information about scams can be found by calling the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP or ftc.gov/complaint.