Law Enforcement Agencies Warn of Local Phone/Texting Scams: Facebook Scammers Try To Hack Edmonson Voice

Darren Doyle, story:
Two different law enforcement agencies are warning consumers about two different scams that have been reported locally that involve phone calls and texts. In addition, a Facebook account appearing to be from Facebook's parent company "Meta," attempted to hack the Edmonson Voice.

Kentucky State Police Post 3 in Bowling Green have reported that citizens have received calls from someone stating they are a trooper with Kentucky State Police and there is civil litigation against them. The caller then demands an immediate payment over the phone to avoid being arrested, KSP said.

"Law enforcement WILL NOT call you to inform of an arrest warrant, KSP said in a released statement. "Furthermore, these agencies will not ask anyone for money, banking/personal information or make threats of arrest.  Of course, you may also contact the specified agency yourself if you are in any doubt."

KSP added that the agency does not call to collect funds or threaten arrest for unpaid fines or taxes. They also said to  never share your Social Security Number or other personal information online or by phone.

The Edmonson County Sheriff's Office is also urging residents to be wary of a phishing scam through text messages from someone claiming to be a representative of Passport/Medicare.

According to the Sheriff's Office, the text messages come from 833-627-0877 asking for the recipient to confirm health and personal information, but Passport/Medicare said they did not send the texts.

"If you receive a text similar to this, please do not respond or give out any personal information," a statement from the Sheriff's Office said. "If you have any questions or concerns, please call the Edmonson County Sheriff's Office at 270-597-2157."

Notification from fake account that appears to be from Facebook.

Just this morning, the Edmonson Voice received a Facebook notice that our account had been temporarily suspended because it had violated copyright laws and was accused of stealing another account's identity. The notice appeared to come from Facebook's business help center, however, it was a notification that another account named "Business Help Center Meta 4," with a Facebook business logo had tagged us in a post. The fake account was created today and had no followers. They offered a link where we could go and "solve the issue," but it was neither a Facebook link, nor a secure one. There, we would be asked to enter our email address and password, which would obviously compromise our account. Our account was never suspended and we immediately reported the fraudulent Facebook page and blocked it.

On behalf of everyone in Edmonson County; dear scammers--get a job.