Phone scams continue to target potential victims in Tulsa County.

Scammers are using publicly available information on the internet to look up the family members of inmates incarcerated in the Tulsa County Jail. Then they attempt to scam the family members out of money over the phone, claiming they can get their family member out of jail if they pay a bond amount over the phone.

The Tulsa County Jail has received dozens of calls from potential victims who say someone claiming to be a bondsman wants to be paid over the phone to get their loved ones out of jail.

If your loved one is currently in the Tulsa County Jail and you receive on these calls, hang up. IT’S A SCAM!

Always remember:

– Inmates or their loved ones contact bond companies, not the other way around.

– In order to bond someone out of jail, either you or a bondsman will have to go to the bonds and release window at the jail to pay the bond. THIS IS NOT DONE OVER THE PHONE.

In another version of the scam, the caller tells people they have a warrant for their arrest for failing to appear for a federal grand jury summons. They tell the person they must immediately pay hundreds, or even thousands of dollars in fines to avoid being arrested by the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office. They tell the would-be victim that they must pay the bond by purchasing cash cards, cash apps or crypto currency purchased at Bitcoin kiosks.