FROM THE SHERIFF’S DESK
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MADISON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Community Safety Bulletin
Community Safety Bulletin
Standing Together Against Crime
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office works tirelessly each day to protect our community from crime and those who commit it. But public safety is strongest when it is a shared effort. We rely on the eyes and ears of our citizens, especially within our neighborhoods, to help identify suspicious activity and report concerns promptly. Your willingness to speak up plays a critical role in keeping Madison County safe.
One of the most prevalent threats facing our community today is fraud. Scammers are increasingly sophisticated, targeting victims directly in their homes through phone calls, text messages, emails, and even in-person interactions. Their goal is simple: to take your money!
These criminals often disguise themselves as legitimate entities, sometimes even posing as law enforcement, to gain trust. Their tactics are constantly evolving, making awareness and vigilance more important than ever.
In this issue, we highlight several scams currently impacting communities across the country, along with the tactics commonly used by fraudsters. Staying informed empowers you to recognize red flags and avoid becoming a victim.
We encourage you to review the recommended prevention tips included in this bulletin and to share this information with family, friends, and neighbors.
Public safety is not just the responsibility of law enforcement—it is a partnership. By remaining alert, informed, and proactive, we can work together to protect Madison County from those who seek to do harm.
As we focus on safety at home, we also pause to remember and honor the brave men and women of our armed forces serving both domestically and abroad. Their sacrifice preserves the freedoms we cherish, and they deserve our continued support and appreciation.
Sheriff Julian Wiser
Madison County Sheriff’s Office
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office works tirelessly each day to protect our community from crime and those who commit it. But public safety is strongest when it is a shared effort. We rely on the eyes and ears of our citizens, especially within our neighborhoods, to help identify suspicious activity and report concerns promptly. Your willingness to speak up plays a critical role in keeping Madison County safe.
One of the most prevalent threats facing our community today is fraud. Scammers are increasingly sophisticated, targeting victims directly in their homes through phone calls, text messages, emails, and even in-person interactions. Their goal is simple: to take your money!
These criminals often disguise themselves as legitimate entities, sometimes even posing as law enforcement, to gain trust. Their tactics are constantly evolving, making awareness and vigilance more important than ever.
In this issue, we highlight several scams currently impacting communities across the country, along with the tactics commonly used by fraudsters. Staying informed empowers you to recognize red flags and avoid becoming a victim.
We encourage you to review the recommended prevention tips included in this bulletin and to share this information with family, friends, and neighbors.
Public safety is not just the responsibility of law enforcement—it is a partnership. By remaining alert, informed, and proactive, we can work together to protect Madison County from those who seek to do harm.
As we focus on safety at home, we also pause to remember and honor the brave men and women of our armed forces serving both domestically and abroad. Their sacrifice preserves the freedoms we cherish, and they deserve our continued support and appreciation.
Sheriff Julian Wiser
Madison County Sheriff’s Office
FIGHT AGAINST FRAUD AND SCAMS
Here are some quick facts and figures as reported by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and American Association of Retired People (AARP). The number of adults age 60 and older who reported a loss of $10,000 or more from impostor scams quadrupled in 2024 as compared to 2020. During that same period, reported losses of $100,000 or more jumped from $55 million to $445 million. Both agencies predict that Artificial Intelligence will only make matters of fraud and scams worse going forward. What can you do? Stay informed, stay alert and stay suspicious. Here are some scams to watch out for and helpful information on avoiding being a victim.
Employment Scams:
U.S. employers laid off more than 1.17 million workers in 2025. Because of that, “Employment Scams” are making a comeback. The scams show up as bogus jobs in online ads, on social media and job search websites. Scammers also impersonate real employment agencies and companies. Their goals: To obtain personal information or money by requiring you to pay a fee.
How to stay safe:
Recovery Scams:
Getting scammed is horrendous and nerve-racking. Getting re-scammed may be worse. That’s what happens with recovery scams: Criminals promise to help victims recoup their losses and charge fees for their nonexistent services. These criminals keep records of whom they have victimized. With this scam, they follow up weeks later posing as someone from law enforcement, a consumer advocacy organization, a law firm or a government agency.
How to stay safe:
Here are some quick facts and figures as reported by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and American Association of Retired People (AARP). The number of adults age 60 and older who reported a loss of $10,000 or more from impostor scams quadrupled in 2024 as compared to 2020. During that same period, reported losses of $100,000 or more jumped from $55 million to $445 million. Both agencies predict that Artificial Intelligence will only make matters of fraud and scams worse going forward. What can you do? Stay informed, stay alert and stay suspicious. Here are some scams to watch out for and helpful information on avoiding being a victim.
Employment Scams:
U.S. employers laid off more than 1.17 million workers in 2025. Because of that, “Employment Scams” are making a comeback. The scams show up as bogus jobs in online ads, on social media and job search websites. Scammers also impersonate real employment agencies and companies. Their goals: To obtain personal information or money by requiring you to pay a fee.
How to stay safe:
- Never pay a fee. If you are required to pay money to get a job or an interview, it’s a scam.
- Distrust big promises. Guarantees of great pay / few hours for a work-from-home job are probably too good to be true.
- Understand job-app risks. Reputable sites like Linkedin and Indeed are not immune to fake job posts.
- Scrutinize the source. If a recruiter contacts you, check the company’s website and see if they are hiring for that position and if the person actually works there.
Recovery Scams:
Getting scammed is horrendous and nerve-racking. Getting re-scammed may be worse. That’s what happens with recovery scams: Criminals promise to help victims recoup their losses and charge fees for their nonexistent services. These criminals keep records of whom they have victimized. With this scam, they follow up weeks later posing as someone from law enforcement, a consumer advocacy organization, a law firm or a government agency.
How to stay safe:
- Watch for upfront fees. Criminals may charge in advance for their fake services and ask you to pay with gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers or Venmo.
- Beware of phony checks. Scammers will sometimes send a counterfeit check, often for more than what you lost. Then they will say they overpaid and instruct you to return the balance.
Digital Arrest Scams:
The process of this scam can be terrifying for the uninformed public. Imagine you receive a call saying that you are the subject of a criminal investigation or claiming that law enforcement has an active arrest warrant for you. They try intimidation and urgency to force payment. This is a terror-based scam that involves holding a person digitally captive. Often, they get you in a video call, and they won’t let you go. They transfer you from person to person.
How to stay safe:
Hello pervert scams:
This scam is not a new one. However, it is resurfacing across the country. Criminals email to say they have hacked your computer and recorded you visiting porn sites. They demand payment and threaten to share evidence of your naughty behavior with your email contact list if you fail to pay. To increase the pressure, scammers might include photos of your home (to make you feel like you are being watched) and spoof your email address, so it appears that the blackmailer is contacting you via your own email account. This is an example of “I know what you’re doing on your computer” kind of scam. Scammers often exploit subjects that dominate the news (Jeffrey Epstein scandal). News such as large data breaches usually increase scams in that realm. Scammers obtain personal information, which makes the threat seem more legitimate.
How to stay safe:
The process of this scam can be terrifying for the uninformed public. Imagine you receive a call saying that you are the subject of a criminal investigation or claiming that law enforcement has an active arrest warrant for you. They try intimidation and urgency to force payment. This is a terror-based scam that involves holding a person digitally captive. Often, they get you in a video call, and they won’t let you go. They transfer you from person to person.
How to stay safe:
- Hang up. Law Enforcement does not call people and threaten to arrest them. If you get a call like this, hang up.
- Remember how the system works. Court orders or arrest warrants are not delivered through phone calls, emails or social media messages.
Hello pervert scams:
This scam is not a new one. However, it is resurfacing across the country. Criminals email to say they have hacked your computer and recorded you visiting porn sites. They demand payment and threaten to share evidence of your naughty behavior with your email contact list if you fail to pay. To increase the pressure, scammers might include photos of your home (to make you feel like you are being watched) and spoof your email address, so it appears that the blackmailer is contacting you via your own email account. This is an example of “I know what you’re doing on your computer” kind of scam. Scammers often exploit subjects that dominate the news (Jeffrey Epstein scandal). News such as large data breaches usually increase scams in that realm. Scammers obtain personal information, which makes the threat seem more legitimate.
How to stay safe:
- Don’t take the bait. These messages are fake. Delete them and do not respond. Replying to the message informs the scammers that your email address is active; and they will send more messages.
- Never open attachments from unsolicited emails. Blackmail messages are frequently sent as PDFs to bypass phishing filters.
- Stay calm. Blackmailers may demand payment within 24 hours, but urgency is a frequent scam tactic. Panic and rash actions lead to poor decisions.
- Romance scams:
Romance scams are not new either. They are making a huge comeback across the country and are of a high level concern to the FTC for 2026 because of their relentlessness and prevalence. These scams leave the victim devastated; not only because of monetary loss but also the shame of emotion. A scammer, frequently known as a “catfisher,” assumes a false identity and forms relationships with victims through dating apps, messaging apps and social media. Many times even posing as a well-known celebrity. Once they establish trust, they will ask for money or suggest investments (usually cryptocurrency).
Some of these have evolved into “friendship scams” instead of romance based. The scammers attempt to build connections by leveraging mutual interests, which they can easily find through your social media accounts. They might also profess to be a long-lost friend who just wants to reconnect.
How to stay safe:
- Ignore wrong numbers. Scammers will sometimes call or text seemingly by mistake. Once you respond, they’ll start the conversation and try to keep it going.
- Stay on the platform. Your new friend may want to move the conversation from a dating app, game app, or social media site to an alternative, such as WhatsApp. The reason: They don’t want the conversation to be monitored by a platform’s scam-seeking algorithms.
- Understand “love-bombing”. It’s a common tactic: Someone overwhelms you with over-the-top adoration and affection, usually in the very early stages of a relationship. Love bombing is the way for scammers to control the relationship.
- NEVER send personal information. Information such as a copy of your drivers license, social security card, financial records or bank account information should NEVER be sent electronically for this purpose.
- Meeting in person. Scammers are very reluctant to meet in person. They are after your money and usually want it given to them by electronic means. Be aware, that towards the end of the scam cycle, the person will try to convince the victim that they are “coming to see them,” but in order to do so, they must be given more money for the flight, bus, taxi, etc. The next step, as a last ditch effort to gain more money, the scammer will claim to have hit a snag in traveling. An “emergency” of sorts may come up, requiring even more money. Just know that this is all a part of a large model of scamming that has been adopted and performed on many unsuspecting victims across our country.
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Please contact Lieutenant Castleman
at 731-423-2016 with suggestions for The Lookout!
at 731-423-2016 with suggestions for The Lookout!