Bogart woman loses $20,000 to a scammer claiming to be the Texas attorney general

A Bogart woman recently lost $20,000 in an elaborate scam that officials said was designed to create a belief that she faced incarceration in Texas on serious drug smuggling charges.

The scam, conducted completely over telephone calls, included a scammer with a Southern accent who portrayed himself as James Hale, the sheriff of Oconee County.

“They’re calling people using my name or someone who works for the sheriff’s office,” Hale said Thursday. As a result of a number of such fraud attempts, the sheriff said a warning was posted on the sheriff’s office Facebook.

“Unfortunately, too many people fall for these scams that play on people’s fears,” he said. “They catch them off guard, then talk them into doing stuff and instead of thinking about it and calling the sheriff’s office, they fall into the trap.”

In this scheme, the 59-year-old woman who lives in an upscale neighborhood of Oconee County, reported she received a telephone call on June 27 from a person who identified himself as the attorney general of Texas.

After explaining officers had raided a location in El Paso, the caller said documents were seized that linked her to drug smuggling and money laundering that resulted in criminal charges. The man said the “local sheriff” would call to verify this information.

She then received a second call that showed a Watkinsville number and the caller identified himself as Sheriff Hale. The man, described as talking with a Southern accent, assured her the information she received was correct.

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Then the "attorney general" called back and apparently believing they had the woman's confidence, he told her to withdraw $20,000 cash from her bank. He then provided the locations for two bitcoin machines. She drove to the locations and deposited the money and provided the caller with information about the deposit, according to the report.

Later that day, the woman said she called the sheriff’s office to discuss what happened and this is when she learned she was the victim of a scam.

Hale said the investigation is ongoing.

“The FBI has some good resources and we are working with them, but I’ll tell you, it’s not very likely (we'll) catch them,” he said.

These scams involve a lot of technology and the scammers are experts at spoofing telephone numbers to make it difficult to trace, according to the sheriff.

Information on scams is available from the FBI at the website: www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/safety-resources/scams-and-safety.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Oconee woman loses $20,000 to men posing as law enforcement