Identity theft, fraud, and flim-flam are up in Union County. Now the Sheriff’s Office is trying to cut down on those crimes.
Sheriff David Taylor says they’re working to decrease financial, property and violent crimes and they're turning to local organizations, groups, and churches to get the word out.
"This is the Lord's house, but the devil's working in these grounds," said Taylor of the crimes showing up in Union County. He says scams in particular are becoming an issue.
"There's so many different scams, if I went down the list, I'd fill up your whole 30 minute news segment," he said.
The Sheriff's Office is holding several meetings like the one Tuesday night at Padgett’s Creek Baptist Church for folks from the area to learn how to protect themselves against many different types of crimes.
Sheriff Taylor says Union County in particular is at risk, because there's a lot of senior citizens, it's rural, and folks are trusting.
"We live in the Bible Belt and a lot of times we don't know how to tell people no."
So 7 On Your Side wanted to know - how big of a problem is it?
In 2009, there were 22 identity theft and fraud crimes in Union County.
In 2010, those numbers shot up to 64 and stayed the same in 2011.
So far this year, there’s already been 14.
"It's terrible, it really is," said Emma Fincher, who attended the Tuesday night meeting.
Fincher got a letter in the mail Tuesday - telling her she'd won $50 thousand dollars. She received a check for over $2 thousand – that was supposedly the first installment.
"I knew it was a scam, because you're not going to get something for nothing," Fincher explained.
Sheriff Taylor says, since they’ve started these meetings, they’ve had a lot of other groups call them, saying they also want to learn how to protect themselves.
If you're worried about protecting your property, the Union County Sheriff’s Office is offering home safety checks. They'll come out to your house to make sure it's secure.
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