Watch for possible phone scams, Sheriff says

Sheriff James Pohlmann is warning parish residents to beware of possible phone scams that have been reported, ones apparently targeting older people.

The Sheriff’s Office has gotten reports of older people being called, told they owe money for unpaid services and are threatened they will be arrested if they don’t pay, Sheriff Pohlmann said.

The sheriff said if you have received a bill for services unpaid that would ordinarily be a civil matter and not something you could be arrested over. There are certain specific instances where failure to pay can be theft, including stolen utility services, refusal to pay a restaurant bill or a cab fare and shoplifting in a store.

He said anyone threatening arrest over a bill they claim to have sent you is possibly trying to scam you.

In such a situation, Sheriff Pohlnann said, tell the caller to re-send a bill stating what services you owe them for so you can examine what they are talking about. If it was a scam attempt you probably won’t receive anything from them.

Any time you feel someone is trying to trick you out of money, call the Sheriff’s Office at (504) 271-2501 to report it.