A Crossville man says he was swindled out of almost $900 after he was contacted by someone claiming to be a “Detective Casey” who told him that since he has been on the Sex Offender Registry for ten years, he could have his name removed for a fee. The victim was provided with a barcode to use at a store. He lost a total of $880 in the scam. The barcodes ring up as www.payithere.com which opens up to a “Vanilla Direct Pay” website.
In an unrelated incident, another Crossville man received a phone call from a number that appeared to be from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office. The caller claimed to be “Sgt. Smith” and informed the victim he had a Failure to Appear warrant for missing Jury Duty. The victim was told that if he paid the fine the charges would be dropped but if he went to the Sheriff’s Office he would be booked and could be held for up to 14 days in jail. The victim was sent barcodes and went to several different stores to complete the transactions. He was scammed out of $1,760. The barcodes ring up as www.payithere.com which opens up to a “Vanilla Direct Pay” website.