Palm Coast, FL - The Flagler County Sheriff's Office says that a man posing as "FCSO Sergeant Cooper" scammed a 74-year-old Palm Coast woman out of $1,205 last week.
The victim said that on August 12 she received a call from the imposter telling her she had an active warrant for missing jury duty. He also said if she did not pay the fine, she would be arrested. The imposter then sent the woman to multiple stores, purchasing gifts cards totaling $1,205. He told her that she needed to stay on the phone with him while collecting the gift cards in case she was arrested by other law enforcement for the alleged warrant.
After the victim completed her transactions and hung up with the "Sergeant," she called a family member who told her he'd heard about a similar fraud on the FCSO Facebook page. He advised her to contact the Sheriff's Office.
FCSO has had multiple calls from victims all reporting the same type of incident.
“A law enforcement agency will never request any payments in the form of gift cards,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “If you receive a phone call from a ‘deputy’ that just doesn’t sound right, hang up and call the Sheriff’s Office directly to confirm you are actually speaking with a deputy sheriff. We are
investigating these cases and following every lead to bring these scammers to justice.”
FCSO reminds residents that Sheriff's Office employees will not call to request payment of any kind over the phone. They say if you get a call from someone claiming to be a Sheriff's Office employee, hang up and call the non-emergency number, 386-313-4911, to report the call.
The Sheriff's Office has a link for more information on crimes against seniors, which you can reach by clicking here.
