Wilson County sheriff warns community about phone scammers

WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — It’s a scam that’s been around for quite some time: callers claiming that you never appeared to jury duty.

However, scammers have gotten creative in Wilson County, using real names from the sheriff’s office and even spoofing the non-emergency number, which is 615-444-1412. This week, the Wilson County sheriff is sending a clear message to the community that these calls are not legit.

A Mt. Juliet couple received a voicemail a year ago saying, “Good morning. This is Deputy Calvin Warner with the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office,” after a scammer spoofed a number to make it look like the sheriff’s office’s non-emergency line.

“When I got on the phone with them here at the house, they told me that I could not hang up, that I needed to maintain contact with them at all times. Otherwise, they would send a car out to find me,” Bill Berry said.

The caller said they needed $3,500 in gift cards or Berry’s wife would go to jail. Berry sent the money and said he was willing to do anything to make sure his wife wasn’t in any danger.

“Listen, we’ve tried to promote this and stop this. I know the police departments are trying to stop it. They’re giving my name, they’re giving other people’s names that work for the sheriff’s office,” Wilson County Sheriff Robert Bryan said.

The sheriff’s office has taken to social media a handful of times warning about the scam. One of those posts from earlier this week explained how scammers are spoofing the non-emergency number; providing legitimate employee names and ranks from the sheriff’s office; threaten to arrest people for not paying legal fees or failing to report for jury duty; and instructing people to purchase gift cards, report your mileage, and share serial numbers to access the card amounts.

However, people are still falling victim to the scam, according to Bryan.

“I just ask that people out here listening on TV understand that we will not call people on the phone. If we want you, we’re going to come pick you up,” Bryan said.

Unfortunately, he said these scammers continue to target older people: “You got to understand the older generation. If somebody calls and say they owe money, they’re going to pay it.”

As for Berry, he told News 2 on Thursday, Aug. 22 that he hasn’t received one of these phone calls since getting scammed last year, but he never got his money back.

“Please put something out there that the sheriff said hang up on these people,” Bryan said.

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