Law enforcement advises caution when money is solicited over phone or email
A generation ago, the average Gilmer County resident probably didn’t have to worry as much about crimes conducted from other countries.
But today, they’re a constant concern.
“One of the top situations that’s plaguing the country, the state and our county is fraud and identity theft,” Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) Captain Frank Copeland said.
Criminals from around the world can attempt to scam Americans with emails, texts, calls and letters of all kinds.
Georgia residents lost $420 million to online crimes in 2024 alone, Copeland said.
Even if these crimes often start in other countries, they go where the money is. Anyone making more than $10,000 per year is in the world’s wealthiest 50 percent.
Stealing what the average American might consider a small amount can be a huge score for a criminal in countries where the average income is less than $3,000 yearly.
In Burma, massive cyber scam centers use slave labor to send scam emails to targets around the world.
Gilmer faces a threat from both domestic scammers and from ones like these.
“A lot of it is international,” Copeland said. “Money travels around the world in three minutes.”
GCSO got 152 calls about scams or attempted scams between Nov. 1, 2024, and Nov. 7, 2025, Copeland said. Although officers do their best, money picked up by scammers is often gone for good, especially if the criminals are in other countries.
“We have no jurisdiction over there,” Copeland said.
The most important thing Gilmer citizens can do to protect themselves is not get taken in, he said.
If someone asks you for money, confirm the request with that person. Scammers can impersonate your friends or family, pretend to be the government or fake an emergency.
“Never give anybody money that’s called you, especially if you don’t know them,” he said. “But even if you do know them, you need to verify.”
Scams come in multiple forms, Copeland said.
Sometimes it’s a text from a “relative” who was jailed and now needs
“bail money.” Other times, it’s a letter warning you about a “government fee.” Still other times, it’s a romantic “relationship.”
All these rely on creating a sense of emotional urgency to make victims act without thinking, he said.
If you click on a link in a scam email, it can download software to hack your computer.
Links can look like they connect to Facebook or Google, but actually connect to scam pages designed to trick you into entering your passwords.
If a message asks for money, people should confirm information before acting. For instance, looking up the county jail where your relative is allegedly being held and calling them can confirm whether the phone call is real.
Most scam calls to which GCSO responds start as telephone calls.
Typically, online scams start by asking for a few hundred dollars. But if you agree, they’ll try to get more money from you.
“They will start by saying they need $500 to bail a relative out of jail. Then they may come back and say there’s another charge,” Copeland said.
Old people who are trusting and unfamiliar with technology are often victims, Copeland said. But anyone can fall for a scam.
“Elderly people dislike the idea of being afoul of the law or some institution that they do business with, and they want that to be resolved,” Copeland said.
If you get a scam message but recognize it and don’t send money, report the message to reportfraud.ftc.gov. This site is currently off due to the federal government shutdown.
If you do get stolen from, report it to the GCSO as well, Copeland said. Every so often, the GCSO can trace the funds and get your money back.
“We can try to do as much as we can, but sometimes it’s not positive results,” he said.
Even so, it’s important to report these attempts, Copeland said. Statistics on scam calls can help the federal government better decide how to protect American citizens from online scams.
The U.S. sanctions scam networks and the international criminal organizations that run them as punishment.
“There’s nothing that anyone can do if crimes go unreported,” Copeland said.