Michigan family loses $2,100 in Oakland County jail scam

PONTIAC, Mich. – A Michigan mother shared her harrowing experience after scammers impersonated an Oakland County sheriff’s officer and swindled her family out of $2,100 following her daughter’s arrest for drunk driving.
The woman spoke to Local 4 under the condition of anonymity.
The ordeal began on her daughter’s 21st birthday.
The mother and her husband had warned their daughter about drinking and driving, but when she didn’t come home the next morning, they grew concerned.
Checking her location through a tracking app, the mother saw that her daughter was at the Oakland County Sheriff’s office.
Shortly after, the daughter’s father received a call from a man claiming to be Officer Michael Williams from Oakland County.
The caller said the mother would receive instructions on how to post a $500 bond.
The fake officer explained that due to COVID-19 restrictions, bond payments could not be made in person and had to be paid via apps like Zelle or Venmo, although those machines were allegedly not working. He sent a barcode to the mother to scan at a CVS store to pay the bond.