The Stanly County Sheriff’s Office is offering a phone app as a crime-fighting tool

A “fraud alert” appeared on cellphones across the region at 2:35 p.m. on Monday.

At least that was the case on phones equipped with the new Stanly County Sheriff’s Office app.

The Sheriff’s Office released the Stanly Sheriff app this month, a new tool to help fight crime and inform the public.

Sheriff Jeff Crisco said data shows more people use the app on their phones than social media.

Therefore, the department has made the application available for download.

“It’s another way for us to get the word out to the community,” Crisco said. “Contains direct links to our social media and our website.”

It includes places where residents can submit feedback, check the sex offender registry, apply for a concealed weapons permit, apply for a job and request a home inspection.

“They can share tips anonymously,” Crisco said.

More features will be added.

“For sheriff’s offices across the state, this has been extremely successful,” Crisco said.

Regarding the scam alert, the Sheriff’s Office is warning individuals that there are “ongoing telephone scams taking place in which suspects pose as law enforcement officers in order to coerce victims into handing over money.”

According to the Sheriff’s Office app, “scams come in many varieties, but generally the caller will identify himself as a law enforcement officer and falsely tell the victim that a warrant has been issued because they missed a court date, failed to appear before a jury, have an outstanding fine or something similar, and will be arrested if they do not pay immediately.”

The sheriff’s office emphasizes that it will never ask for money over the phone. People who believe they have been scammed can call the office at 704-986-3714.

BJ Drye is CEO/Editor of The Stanly News & Press. Call 704-982-2123.