Alamance County residents have lost nearly $6.5 million in scams over the last two years.
Officials with the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office say there have been more than 430 fraud cases assigned to detectives in the last 20 months.
The average loss per citizen in those cases is $33,000. And the investigations can take several weeks to a year to solve.
At a county commission meeting this week, Detective Chandler Weger said cryptocurrency scams are the main culprit. He’s working to educate the community about how to protect themselves.
“If anyone asks you to pay over the phone for anything. Period. Just hang up and contact a friend, loved one, or a law enforcement officer to verify that it's legitimate," he said.
Weger is also looking to train store employees how to respond to potential scam victims.
He says clerks could ask more questions if a customer is trying to buy an unusual number of gift cards, and refuse a sale if it doesn’t feel right.