Henry County Sheriff’s Department hosts “Scam Seminar”

PARIS, Tenn. – The Henry County Sheriff’s Department teamed up with Secret Service agents to help members of the community protect themselves from scammers.

Sheriff Monte Belew says the scamming problem has hit Henry County, as well as the nation.

“Unfortunately that’s one of the most prevalent calls we receive is scammers. You know, they may hit 200 to 300 people a day, but if they get one or two successful calls, then they’ve had a good day at work,” Belew said.

Sheriff Belew invited two Secret Service agents from the Memphis Field Office to update attendees on new scams and tactics, including phone call scams and card skimmers.

“We’ve been to one of these once before, about four or five years ago, and it’s very informative, keeps us updated about what types of scams are going, and some of the things I’ve heard about, we can ask questions,” said attendee Andrew Craven.

Sheriff Belew said they originally planned for under 100 attendees. By the end of the day, over 150 had arrived.

“You really don’t realize how big of a problem scamming is until you start advertising it for this class,” Belew said.

In addition to a question and answer session at the end of the seminar, the Sheriff’s Department served attendees lunch and breakfast.

“It keeps the community aware. It brings us closer together so we can meet each other, but we can compare ideas and what has been happening,” Craven said.

“They shouldn’t be ashamed, and we want them to report it, and we want to help them get through it, and where they get to where they don’t fall prey to a scammer,” Belew said.

Sheriff Belew says the seminar was so successful, the department plans on hosting more events over the coming months, some of which will be aimed at younger populations.

If you suspect you may have been the victim of a scam, call your local police department or sheriff’s office.