DARLINGTON - The Lafayette County Sheriff issued a warning late Wednesday, March 20, about scammers hitting up local residents for debit card numbers and home addresses.
Residents on Wednesday evening reported receiving cellular text message alerts that their "debit card has been deactivated" and they should call "First National Bank" to manually enter their 16-digit debit card number, according to Sheriff Scott Pedley.
"It is highly unlikely that a financial institution would communicate this type of a request to their customers via text messaging," Pedley said.
Another recent scam reported by residents in Lafayette County involves calls from a person claiming to be with Publisher's Clearing House and requesting a home address for a UPS delivery of "a check made out to them for a large dollar amount."
"Publisher's Clearing House does not make awards via UPS delivery," Pedley said.
Pedley urges residents to stay vigilant and not let their guards down.
"Our residents seem to be bombarded with financial scams and attempts to steal identity information on a daily basis," he said. Legitimate financial institutions, insurance companies and government agencies won't request personal information via text or email - "but scammers will."
Residents on Wednesday evening reported receiving cellular text message alerts that their "debit card has been deactivated" and they should call "First National Bank" to manually enter their 16-digit debit card number, according to Sheriff Scott Pedley.
"It is highly unlikely that a financial institution would communicate this type of a request to their customers via text messaging," Pedley said.
Another recent scam reported by residents in Lafayette County involves calls from a person claiming to be with Publisher's Clearing House and requesting a home address for a UPS delivery of "a check made out to them for a large dollar amount."
"Publisher's Clearing House does not make awards via UPS delivery," Pedley said.
Pedley urges residents to stay vigilant and not let their guards down.
"Our residents seem to be bombarded with financial scams and attempts to steal identity information on a daily basis," he said. Legitimate financial institutions, insurance companies and government agencies won't request personal information via text or email - "but scammers will."