Wayne County residents are being told to watch their wallets after a slick phone scam surfaced that uses fake sheriff’s deputies and urgent pleas for bond money to squeeze thousands of dollars out of worried relatives.
What The Sheriff’s Office Says
In a social media alert, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office said scammers are calling families of people who have been arrested on domestic-violence charges and pretending to be law enforcement. The callers have reportedly used names like “Lieutenant Richard Cummings” and “Officer Reed” and claim they can help bond out an inmate if the family pays up front.
Instead of sending anyone through the normal booking and bonding process, the callers tell relatives to send money through Venmo or Cash App. That is the first big red flag, according to the sheriff’s office, which stressed that these are not official procedures and that the office does not employ anyone by the names being used…