GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — After receiving a call that appeared to come from the Gaston County Jail, she put money in an app to get her son out of jail.
Now, she is out $650.
Toni Jones told Channel 9’s Ken Lemon that she received a call from a man who said he was a member of law enforcement.
“It was a number that showed up from the Gaston County jailhouse, and the gentleman said that he worked in intake with the police department,” she said.
The man knew her son was in jail, knew her son’s case number, and knew her name.
He claimed the Gaston County jail was full.
“[He was] calling people and telling them they could get their family members out with an ankle monitor,” she said.
He told her that she just needed to pay $650 through a phone app now and then another $650 later.
The man on the other end of the phone spoke with her as she went to different stores to add money to the app.
After completing two transfers, she arrived at the jail, and at a button, the final stop on her journey to get her son out of jail.
“I said I’m pushing the button, you can come out here and meet me, and then he hung up on me,” Jones said.
Then, real sheriff’s deputies arrived, and Jones said that’s when she found out it was all fake.
She couldn’t get the man back on the phone with her, and her money was gone, she said.
“$650 I won’t get back,” she said. “It was for rent.”
And she’s not the only one getting calls like these. A sheriff’s representative told Lemon that sometimes a fake officer will tell people they will go to jail unless they pay immediately.
The representative said all payments must be made at the jail.
WATCH: Action 9: How to talk to your aging parents about scams
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
