OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office has warned residents about scammers posing as deputies this holiday season.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said on Tuesday (Dec. 10) that representatives from his office would never call or text and ask for immediate payment for any reason.
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At least four residents, one as recently as Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, were contacted either by phone or text message by a person who identified himself as “Sergeant Franklin” from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and asked for money to get their loved one out of jail.
The four residents really did have a loved one who was incarcerated in the Oakland County Jail.
Sergeant Franklin is not employed in the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, but even if he or she were, he or she would never contact residents by phone or text to ask for money in exchange for any service.
In each instance, the phony sergeant told the unsuspecting person that he could get their loved one out of jail if they posted a bond through him using Bitcoin, a QR code that he provided, and a phone number to call.
Investigators believe scammers are doing their homework by checking the list of jail inmates, which is publicly available information online, and then connecting them to a family member through additional research.
Officials say one time, the scammer texted the mother of an inmate, saying her son was in jail and claiming he wanted to speak with her about certain conditions her son would have while on bond.
The mother then spoke to the scammer, who instructed her to withdraw $1,200 from her bank and go to a food mart in Troy.
The scammer then gave her detailed instructions over the phone on how to send the money using a Bitcoin machine.
Once the transaction was completed, the scammer stopped responding to her text messages.
The mother later discovered her son was released from jail before the transaction.
In two other instances, the unwitting victims showed up at the county jail with receipts from their transaction with the scammers, believing they had legitimately paid the bond.
Jail deputies told them the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office only takes cash bonds at the jail bonding window.
The four victims paid the scammers a total of $6,400.
