News

Sheriff issues warning about warrant scam

By Lightning Reports, Published: August 19, 2019

The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about a warrant scam currently happening in the area.

The scammers are using “spoof” technology to call random residents of Henderson County. The “spoof” technology enables the caller to make the telephone number of the Sheriff’s Office (828.697.4596) appear on the caller I.D. of the unsuspecting victims. The caller then advises victims that the Sheriff’s Office has an active warrant for their arrest and demands money to make the warrant go away. Several victims have reported that the caller has used names of actual deputies when making the demand.

Sheriff Lowell Griffin reminded everyone not to fall victim to this scam. The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office will NEVER call and demand money from anyone to satisfy a warrant or criminal charge. The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office does not accept payments on any criminal matter. All payments for valid criminal charges are made at the Henderson County Clerk of Court’s Office and made payable to the Henderson County Clerk of Court. No government agency is going to ask for payment via a store gift card, visa gift card etc., the sheriff's office added.