The Roane County Sheriff's Office is warning people about a cold call scam with someone posing as one of their own.
According to the RCSO, a person claiming to be Chief Deputy Tim Phillips has been calling people trying to scam them out of money.
They said the caller will tell them that they missed jury duty and that there's a warrant out for their arrest. The caller then asks for them to 'clear it up' by telling them to buy a pre-paid card from the store and give them the numbers from the card over the phone.
The RCSO said, thankfully, the scammer called people who actually knew Tim Phillips and recognized it was clearly not him on the other end.
The RCSO said to always report any scam activity to them at their office number (865) 717-4700 or dispatch at 354-8045.
As always, people should be on the lookout for suspicious callers. An immediate warning sign someone is trying to scam you in virtually every case is if, no matter who they claim to be, the caller pressures you for payment over the phone -- particularly via difficult to trace prepaid debit cards.
Businesses, utilities, and local authorities across the board generally say they will NEVER cold call asking for payment or personal information.
