By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
With the Gulf Coast being ravaged by Hurricane's Helene and Milton, and the potential of Tropical Storm Nadine looming, the Buchanan County Sheriff's Office is warning of an increase in scam calls.
Sheriff Bill Puett says this community is full of kind people with big hearts who want to help, but warns that if you do, know where your money is going
"Know where your effort is being put because there are people, and we've talked about a variety of different scams through the year, but any time we see a natural disaster we see an increase in scams and people calling and saying they're with this associaton or that associaton," Puett tells guest host Travis Dodge on the KFEQ Hotline.
Puett says researching and providing that assistance in the best ways is the best advice he can give, and someone asking for money over the phone is usually the biggest red flag.
Puett says this is a very giving community, but Puett says if you want to help make sure you know what you are doing
"That you know that process, that you have checked it and verified it, and of course we also know that there is Christmas and Thanksgiving coming up and there is a time and a season for giving, and we have a great community that gives and gives and gives all the time," Puett explains.
When omes to scams in general, Puett says do not give out your personal information or click on any sorts of links in emails or on your phone.
"You initiate and you know where things are going," Puett says. "When somebody calls up and says hey I need to verify your account information, well if you have my account then you should have the information in front of you, I shouldn't have to give you all the numbers and all those things, but people are intimidated because they're threatened."
Puett says to just make sure you protect yourself and research and verify before you donate to hurricane relief, or any sort of donation, to avoid being stolen from.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.