The number of scams from phone calls, on Facebook and from phishing websites, seems to continue to escalate, despite the warnings, based on the number of reports The Newport Plain Talk has seen. Many are being scammed out of hard-earned funds by well- constructed ruses that fool many people with sometimes devastating consequences. Some of the reports are simply heartbreaking.
With the ongoing prevalence of these scammers, who are very hard track to down, and with a desire to bring awareness, we are introducing a semi-regular feature called “Don’t get scammed” with the assistance of Cocke County Sheriff C.J. Ball to bring attention to some of these scams, how to recognize them, how to avoid them and how to report them.
‘Never give money to get money’ During a six-week period from June to early August, there were several reports filed with the Newport Police Department and the Cocke County Sheriff’s Office regarding Bitcoin scams. One woman, in her 90s, lost over $100,000 to a Bitcoin telephone scam. Another lost over $10,000 after their Facebook account was hacked.
Ball encourages anybody who has fallen victim, or suspects they have, to file a report with law enforcement, but that’s the easiest step. “First, you never give money to get money,” Ball cautioned. He said reporting it to law enforcement is an easy and necessary step, but prosecuting the perpetrators is much more difficult as many, if not all, are foreign operators.
“We are not going to be able t.