Lafayette County Sheriff warns residents about ongoing phone scam

Scammers posing as deputies and jailers were pushing Lafayette County residents to pay fake booking fees and bail, prompting a fresh warning from the sheriff’s office through the county alert system on April 20.

The sheriff’s office said the messages were part of an ongoing fraud attempt designed to sound urgent and official. In a March 1, 2026 warning, deputies said callers had impersonated law enforcement and jail staff while demanding money for supposed bookings or release. The office said it does not contact people to request payment over the phone and does not direct them to websites for bail payments.

Sheriff Joey East has warned before that these schemes can sound convincing because scammers may use real names, numbers and addresses, and may even spoof caller ID to make the call appear local. In September 2023, East warned that some callers told families an out-of-state relative had been arrested and needed money right away. That same pressure tactic remains central to the scam: create panic, demand secrecy and push a fast payment before the target has time to check.

The county’s advice is simple. Hang up and call the sheriff’s office at (662) 234-6421 to verify any suspicious call. The Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office is based at 711 Jackson Ave. East in Oxford, MS 38655, and the department has continued to use official alerts to warn residents when fraud patterns start circulating.

The warning also fits a broader consumer-fraud pattern that has repeatedly hit the county. The Federal Trade Commission has said scammers impersonating local law enforcement may threaten arrest, claim a package contains contraband and demand payment through cash, gift cards, cryptocurrency, payment apps or wire transfers. Lafayette County has also warned residents about tax scams, unemployment-report fraud and jury-duty scam calls, underscoring how often crooks try to exploit official-looking contacts and local trust.