RUTHERFORD COUNTY, TN — The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office is once again waving the big red flag on scam calls after one particularly bold scammer left a voicemail that was about as subtle as a siren at midnight...
The message was delivered in the most “official-sounding” fake voice they could muster. After claiming to be a fictitious lieutenant, Lt. Carmen went a step further—creating an investigative division that doesn’t even exist…
Next, the voicemail urgently warned the recipient that they had missed their federal grand jury service date...
But good news for the targeted victim: Lt. Fake generously offered to help them reschedule their imaginary grand jury appearance in federal court...
Before ending the lengthy voicemail, the scammer invited the targeted victim to give his division a ring... If that doesn't work, the friendly faker told the victim to send an email to further discuss the missed court date… One small problem: CivilServiceDivision.org is not legit, and doesn’t exist.
WGNS discovered that the same scam script was used in Washington County, Arkansas, two years ago. In Fayetteville, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning to Arkansas residents about the fraudulent calls, advising them not to respond. The sheriff emphasized that the con artists were after both personal information and money. An automated voice falsely claimed to be calling from the WCSO’s “Civil Services Division.” Just like in Rutherford County, no such division exists within that sheriff’s office either.
In closing: If a random “lieutenant” calls to say you’re in trouble with the feds but can fix it with a gift card or your bank info, you’re not special — you’re just being targeted by lazy scammers. So, stay sharp, Rutherford County — and don’t believe everything you hear on voicemail.
SAME SCAM: Scroll down to hear an example of the identical scam that targeted residents in Washington County, Arkansas, in 2023. The voicemail left on phones back then is exactly the same as the ones being received by residents in Rutherford County today.