MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — In just a matter of days, scammers in Martin County have stolen between $30,000 and $40,000, prompting an urgent warning from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office as deputies report a surge in schemes aimed primarily at elderly residents.
One of the fastest-growing scams involves callers pretending to be from a victim’s bank, claiming the person’s account has been compromised. The scammers instruct the victim to withdraw cash and hand it to a “courier” who arrives at their home under the guise of protecting the funds. Officials say banks never send couriers to pick up cash, and any request for such a handoff is fraudulent.
Deputies are also seeing an increase in fake bond payment calls. In these cases, scammers track recent arrests, locate family members online, and convince them that a loved one is in jail and needs immediate bond money. Law enforcement stressed that bond is never paid over the phone, making such demands a clear sign of a scam…