The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office wants the public to know about two scams where their name and the name of one of their officers is being used. Both scams appear to be unrelated.
Numerous calls have been made to homes and businesses in the Smithfield area on Wednesday and Thursday reporting they received the calls.
In the first scam, a person claims they are collecting donations for a children’s charity for the sheriff’s office. They have used the name of Paul Bradley. No one with the name works with the sheriff’s office and the department has not authorized any fundraiser.
In the second scam, numerous calls have been received from a person claiming to be Sgt. Matt Lee. They claim you missed jury duty and a warrant has been issued for your arrest. To avoid being arrested you are instructed to obtain pre-paid credit cards and provide the card numbers. The department does have an officer by that name, however Detective Lt. Don Pate says no one will ever call asking for money or any form of payment to retract a warrant.
If you receive a call from someone claiming they are with the sheriff’s office asking for a charitable donation or demanding money for a missed jury duty summons hang up the phone. You can report the incidents by contacting the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office at 919-989-5000.
