Online and digital scams have robbed Tuscarawas County businesses and residents of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Sheriff Orvis Campbell says they keep getting more convincing and sophisticated.
Scams include fake sweepstakes winning notifications, unsolicited package deliveries asking the recipient to respond to an online survey or scan a QR code, and dire warnings from fabricated law enforcement officials.
Campbell says there are four key indicators of a scam. They create a sense of urgency, they threaten punishment or promise a to-good-to-be-true reward, they involve an unusual payment method, and the prompt is designed to create anxiety.
“The one’s I hate the most is the ones where they use law enforcement as some sort of threat and these law-abiding people don’t want to be on the wrong side of the law ever and even though they hadn’t done anything wrong sometimes they react out of emotion.”
One of the more recent scams invading the county involves a text notifying the recipient of a parking violation. It includes a fairly official looking summons asking the recipient to scan a QR code to settle an unpaid balance.
“Even if this is real, tell me how they got your cell phone number from you parking on the street in Columbus to send you this text photograph of a notice to appear, and of course that doesn’t make sense. The courts don’t operate that way anyway.”
Campbell says keen eyes will notice the recipient’s name is nowhere on the form. Campbell says don’t click on links or scan QR codes in texts. If there is any doubt, contact the agency directly not through any information in the text you received.
Copyright WTUZ Radio Inc., 2026