Columbia, SC (WLTX) — During this holiday season, the South Carolina Sheriffs' Association is asking people to exercise extreme caution when receiving phone calls requesting donations or information on behalf of the SC Sheriffs' Association.
For the second time in a week, the SC Sheriffs' Association office has been inundated by calls from individuals who believe they are returning a missed phone call, said Jarrod Bruder, Executive Director of the Association.
Callers are being told via recorded message that the Association needs to verify the last four digits of their Social Security number or they are talking to a live individual who is asking for complete Social Security numbers and then threatening to dispatch a US Marshal if they don't comply.
Bruder says that Caller ID does display SC Sheriff's Association on the phone but that the Association is not making the calls. "If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be calling on behalf of he South Carolina Sheriffs' Association, know that it is fraudulent and hang up," he says.
Although the SC Sheriffs' Association does have an Honorary Membership Program, the Association does not solicit via telemarketing. Nor does the Association possess or request Social Security numbers from Honorary Members.
