Whether it's a fake text message, phone call or email, Bulloch County Sheriff Noel Brown said scams aiming to steal money from local citizens are on the rise.

"Most people are what I call 'rules followers,'" Brown said Friday at a news conference. "They don't want to doing anything wrong. So, if they get a phone call from someone who says they missed a jury summons or didn't pay a citation from 2025, that gets them thinking. And then they are told or read that they could go to jail or lose their driver's license if they don't pay up. Folks want to do right and scammers take advantage of that."

At the conference, Brown and Capt. Todd Hutchens outlined four prevalent schemes they are seeing more and more reports of every day.

▲ Fake text messages claiming your driver's license will be suspended due to an unpaid fine.

▲ Phone scams where people pose as law enforcement or a bail bondsman who use public arrest records to contact families demanding funds for bonds, ankle monitors or other fees for loved ones who have been arrested. In some cases, they will even pose as the family member using AI to imitate a voice.

▲ Utility scams where people are contacted by phone or sometimes in person claiming to be with a local utility company and threatening to turn off power unless immediate payment is made — often with prepaid cards.

▲ Jury or grand jury summons when you get a call saying you missed your summons date and you will be arrested if you don't make immediate payment.

Brown said he wanted two points about the scams listed above "very clear."

"No one from the Sheriff's Office, no official with any law enforcement or government agency on a local, state or federal level is going to call you or text you demanding money," Brown said. "You get a call like that, it's fake. Its 100 percent fake.

"And here's some advice: If you get a call from a number you don't recognize, don't answer it. Let it go to voicemail. If it's a legitimate call or a family member, they'll leave a message. You'll call back. Just don't answer or just hang up the second owing money comes up."

Brown said that while the elderly are the focus of the majority of scammers, his office is seeing a rise in other age groups being targeted, as well.

Hutchens said scammers are able to access more data from more sources than ever before and the use of AI makes it even more difficult to spot a scam.

"If you have any doubts, it probably is a scam," Hutchens said.

Both Brown and Hutchens said all Bulloch County residents are always welcome to call the Sheriff's Office at (912) 764-8888 at any time if they have any questions about being contacted for a payment they know nothing about.