Over the past several weeks, Statesboro Police Department detectives have investigated a variety of frauds and scams targeting local businesses. Although the details vary, the schemes share common red flags. Please review the guidance below with all employees and reinforce that it is always okay to slow down, verify, and say no.
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Verify authority before complying.
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A caller who claims to be an authority figure—for example, someone from “corporate” or a government agency—may not be who they say they are. Employees often feel pressured to obey instructions they cannot confirm. Require the caller to prove their identity before sharing any financial, customer, or operational information, and consult a supervisor or manager.
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Do not accept credit card payments over the phone for merchandise pick-up.
These transactions are frequently fraudulent. The charge is usually discovered only after the items are collected, leaving your business without product and without valid payment. -
Treat any request to purchase or use prepaid debit, credit, or gift cards as a scam.
Do not buy cards at someone’s direction and do not read or send the numbers/PINs to anyone. They might make decent holiday gifts, but they are not an acceptable form of business payment or problem resolution. -
Refuse instructions to deposit money into a Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency ATM.
Scammers direct victims to local convenience-store Bitcoin kiosks because once funds are transferred, they are effectively untraceable and unrecoverable for law enforcement. -
Ignore threatening calls or texts about unpaid tolls, parking tickets, warrants, or failure-to-appear demands that require immediate remote payment.
That is not how legitimate agencies handle these matters. If you are unsure, contact your local law enforcement or the relevant agency directly using a verified phone number. If it is truly serious, an officer or deputy can respond in person. -
Empower employees to pause and verify.
Most scams collapse when an employee says, “Hold on, I need to verify this with my manager.” Give staff clear authority to slow down, hang up, or escalate suspicious contacts.
