Oconee County Sheriff’s Office Issues April 2026 Scams Update

(Walhalla, SC)-------------------------------------In our continuing efforts to educate and inform our citizens, and to prevent them from becoming victims of scams, the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is releasing today our April 2026 Scams Update.   

The Sheriff’s Office was made aware of a scam in which some citizens received a notification from the Traffic Division in the Circuit Court - Fifth Judicial Circuit in regards to a “Final-Court Ordered Mandatory Collection Service.”

The message goes on to say that traffic violation(s) have been “Officially Declared Delinquent And In Default” and that it is subject to a “Mandatory Collection Enforcement.”  The message asks for the full payment in total and any failure to comply carries penalties such as immediate suspension of the subject’s driver’s license, a referral to a licensed collections enforcement agency and negative reporting on a person’s credit report. 

The message also contains information regarding a court hearing in Columbia at the Richland County Judicial Center and a QR code that can be scanned in order to make an official payment. 

In reference to this scam, the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind you of the following:

· Oconee County itself is part of the 10^th Judicial Circuit, not the Fifth Judicial Circuit.

· When you are issued a ticker or citation, there is information contained below on the physical copy that lists your court date, time to appear and the Magistrate Court that you should attend. 

· You are welcome to contact that particular Magistrate Court to make arrangement to pay your fines or come to court on the day you are scheduled to appear in order to handle any fines or costs at that time.

· If the Magistrate Court needs to reach you for some reason, they will send any information via the United States Postal Service, not through an e-mail or a text message.

· If you do not appear in court on the day you are scheduled, the Court does reserve the right to issue a Magistrate Bench Warrant due to someone’s failure to appear, which may lead to an arrest. 

· It is recommended never to click on any links, or a QR code, in order to make any payments of fines or fees and that is never an option in this case.  A failure to pay a fine may carry certain additional penalties but there is not any type of civil judgement. 

· Always remember a tool that scammers use is to create a sense of urgency in order to force someone to make a decision that they make not make otherwise under different circumstances. 

A citizen spoke with a Deputy concerning a scam after receiving a call from someone claiming to be an employee of a bank.  The person was informed that someone within a twenty mile radius had a check with their name on it.  The person was informed to go to their bank and withdraw approximately $8,000 dollars from their account in order to prevent the check from being cashed.

The caller stated that the bank was under investigation and emphasized that the withdrawal needed to be made immediately.  The person made the withdrawal.  The caller stayed on the phone while the withdrawal was made and instructed the person not to inform any of the bank employees of the reasons for the withdrawal. 

Later on, the person received a call from someone claiming to be from the FBI.  The caller told the person to place the $8,000 dollars in a box and someone would arrive shortly to pick up the box.  Later that afternoon, a courier vehicle arrived at the residence of a family member of the person who was contacted. 

The investigation has been turned over to an Investigator assigned to the Fraud Unit of the Uniform Patrol Bureau. 

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind you that a law enforcement agency will not come to your place of residence in order to pick up money from you.  Also, if you receive a call like this from someone claiming to be an employee of the bank, and asks you to make a large withdrawal, consider it to be a scam, hang up the phone and contact a local branch of the institution you bank with or stop by to see them in order to make them aware of it.

Also, if someone tells you not to inform an employee of a financial institution of a large withdrawal you are making, let an employee of the local branch know as they are well-trained and have procedures in place in order to prevent their customers from becoming victims of scams.