Nothing Worse than A Scam

V. Hugh Lewis II

There’s something in the air, again, and it’s costing not only individuals, but our organizations.

Scams.

Any time a disaster happens the scum crawl out of the woodwork to try and make a buck off the concern and generosity of individuals.

The tragedy in Central Texas had scam artists calling before the rain had stopped falling.

But, it’s also getting close to “Back To School” time, so our youth are out working to raise funds for the upcoming school year. 

The Jefferson Athletic Booster Club is also working to sell ads for the football program and board members and volunteers are making calls.

But, so is someone looking to scam local businesses and take money away from the kids.

Jefferson ISD issued a FaceBook notice this week on the matter:

“It has been brought to our attention that someone has been contacting local businesses by telephone and requesting funds on behalf of Jefferson ISD/as a representative from JISD. 

“Please do not donate to this organization – this is unauthorized.

“Jefferson ISD staff requests donations in person and will not contact a business by telephone. Please do not accept any donation request on behalf of JISD unless you have been contacted in person by a Jefferson ISD staff member.”

Bottom line, the school is NOT going to call you asking for money. 

One of the good things about living in a small community is most of us know everyone else – or have at least heard of someone, or can find someone who knows the person calling.

Keep that in mind when you receive a call, or someone drops by requesting money for a school organization. If you don’t know them, ask for a number to call them back, or for the name of a local teacher, principal, or administrator. If they can’t give you one, or don’t want to wait for you to verify the request, then it’s most likely a scam.

Here’s a few other tips to help avoid telephone, or email based scams:

• Never give personal information

• Avoid “Urgent” requests

• Verify the caller and the program

• Don’t agree to Money Orders, payment apps, crypto

• Never send money back after depositing a check

• Ask a friend before agreeing

These sound easy, but in the moment, they’re easy to forget.

The other scam going around Marion County right now is about failure to appear for a Jury Summons.

An “officer” calls you and tells you that he is with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and has a warrant for your arrest. But, you can take care of it right then over the phone with him. No need to come downtown. Just hand over your credit card or bank account number and he’ll get the fine and warrant dismissed.

He’ll even text you a copy of the warrant if you want.

Scam.

We got one of these and if you follow Darla on FB, then you know how she always attends Jury Duty calls. We spent 30 minutes on the phone messing with the guy while I walked over to the sheriff’s office and even let them talk to him.

Be careful with calls for money. If you want to support our students, worst case, contact the Jimplecute and we’ll put you in touch with the right people.