NATCHEZ — Telephone scams are a $20 billion a year industry, local law enforcement officials said, and Natchez and Adams County are seeing a variety of telephone scams reported every day.

One such telephone scam that preys on grandparents is popping back up in Natchez and Adams County, said Natchez Ward 3 Alderman Sarah Carter-Smith, whose parents recently received one of the grandparent scam calls.

“They (my parents) got a call and the person acted like he was my son,” Smith said. “(The caller) said he was in a car wreck and had hit someone who had a pregnant lady in the car who got hurt.”

The caller, Smith said, told her parents that he had been taken to jail and needed bond money.

“He (the caller) said, ‘Don’t call my parents, because I don’t want them to know about it,’” Smith said. “‘Please just help me out and then we can work on getting it straightened out afterward.’”

Fortunately, Smith said, her parents did not fall victim to the scam that has been making the rounds for several years and has bilked unsuspecting grandparents out of millions of dollars worldwide.

The Federal Trade Commission reports that the average amount paid out by victims 70 years or older on the grandparent scam in 2018 was $9,000.

Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten said the grandparent scam is only one of many scams reported to his office on a daily basis.

Other scams include callers claiming to be with governmental agencies including the Internal Revenue Service or the Social Security Administration telling the victim that they owe money, demanding payment over the telephone or the person will be arrested.

Natchez Police Chief Walter Armstrong concurs with Patten on the prevalence of such calls, and Armstrong said he personally received a scam call recently.

“It sounded so realistic because it referenced a place I had been,” Armstrong said.

The caller told Armstrong he still owed money from his visit to the business.

Armstrong, however, said he knew he had paid his bill.

“It did pique my interest, because I had been there,” Armstrong said, adding he hung up on the call and called the business directly himself and verified that he did not owe any money.

Armstrong said he reported the scam to the Mississippi Attorney General’s office.

“If it originates locally, it may be something the state or federal officials are already investigating, and it would strengthen the case,” Armstrong said

Armstrong said he also has received calls from residents in the past week reporting such scam telephone calls and that such scams can come from anywhere around the world. Calls also can use technology known as phone spoofing to make it look like the call is coming from a the local area, Armstrong said.

Both Armstrong and Patten advise people not to pay anyone over the telephone.

“Hang up and call the IRS (or relevant agency) and see if you owe anything on your own,” Patten said.

Some scams, Patten said, have even been going around purporting to be the Adams County Sheriff’s Office or other local agencies seeking payment for past due fines.

“We are not going to ask you to pay money over the phone,” Patten said, adding that anyone calling you and demanding payment over the telephone should be a red flag.

Patten said anyone receiving such scam calls is advised to report it to the ACSO, the Natchez Police Department or their local law enforcement agency.

Patten urges residents to be aware that scams are prevalent in today’s environment.

“That phone scam business is over a $20 billion business per year,” Patten said. “It is not just known to this area. It is all over the word. Phone scams are the new version of panhandling. That’s what it is. Don’t fall for it.”