The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office has received reports of two new scams targeting vulnerable people in the community.
JCSO reports the victims included a mother of a runaway child and family members of a recently arrested Adult-in-Custody (AIC).
In the first case, suspects obtained information from a social media post about a missing juvenile. They sent the family a video, possibly AI-generated, showing the child restrained in a chair, and demanded $1,500 or they would harm their family member.
The video could only be viewed once, and the call originated from a Canadian phone number. The family quickly confirmed the juvenile was safe. This marks the second local scam of this kind in less than a month.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has tracked over 100 similar ransom scams since 2020. NCMEC tells families to allow authorities to create and distribute missing child posters and warns against including personal phone numbers or emails on self-made posters.
In the second case, scammers called a family of a newly arrested AIC, impersonating a JCSO deputy. The scammer asked for $1,500 for bail and another $500 for an ankle monitor to secure the AIC’s release to a drug treatment program.
The caller claimed to be a Jackson County Jail pretrial release coordinator and asked for the money to be sent via a kiosk at Walmart. The scammer used accurate details about the jailed individual to appear credible.
Law enforcement reminds the community they will never call to collect money, and will never request funds through gift cards, bitcoin, or kiosks. If you receive a suspicious call, hang up and call Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon's non-emergency number, 541-776-7206.
