CHAPIN, S.C. — Chapin police have seen a big increase in scam calls and social media fraud over the last six months.
"We've had reports of people representing themselves as the Chapin police department. They go so far as to be able to spoof the number for the Chapin police department, so the number that is popping up, it appears to be the Chapin police department," said Thomas Griffin, Chapin police chief.
The chief said reports claim scammers are investigators with the Chapin police department. He says the scammer goes on to say that you've been convicted of a crime and need to send money to get it taken off your record.
"Police will not barter over the phone when it comes to receiving bond or funds of any sort. A bond is set by a judge, so the judge is the one who has sole discretion over that bond. The police will never seek out money," Griffin said.
At least ten people have filed reports and Griffin said it is also happening to police departments in Irmo, Richland and Lexington.
If you have any suspicions, hang up says the chief. Stop contact or reach out to a government agency directly to verify a claim.
"A lot of it goes unreported, either being that they knew that they were a victim of a scam and there may be a little bit of embarrassment there that they don't want to report that to law enforcement, but that's stuff we need to know. If we don't have the information, then we don't know how to go about solving the problem," Griffin said.
Police say the consequence for these scammers can range from jail time to probation to fines of $500 or more.