Rhea County Sheriff’s Department warns of phone scam

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RHEA COUNTY — The Rhea County Sheriff’s Department says they have been notified of a new phone scam.

The scammer is calling citizens claiming to be a detective with the Sheriff’s Department. The caller is telling victims to do various things such as:

– to send money;
– to come in for DNA swabs;
– to be served with legal papers;
– to be served with warrants; or – to pay a monetary fees.

The Rhea County Sheriffs Department says they would not contact anyone in this manner for such important transactions.

They ask locals to keep in mind that phone number cloning is common and it may look as though the number is local.

If in doubt, hang up and call the Sheriff’s Department at (423) 775-7837 or Rhea County Dispatch’s non-emergency line at (423) 775-2442. We would be happy to help confirm the legitimacy of any call claiming to come from our department.