WINNSBORO – The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an electronic scam in which a 75-year-old resident was tricked into purchasing $200 in gift cards by someone posing as a friend.
Daniel Singleton reported that on August 22, he received texts from someone he believed to be a trusted acquaintance, Brandon Henderson. The impostor asked Singleton to purchase multiple gift cards totaling $600, claiming they were for “county members.”
When Singleton said he couldn’t make that purchase, the imposter asked him to instead buy a $50 Apple card at the CVS in Winnsboro, scratch off the back and text a picture of the code. He was then asked to buy three more $50 Apple gift cards, with reimbursement promised later that day.
The individual then asked for two more $100 cards. At that point, Singleton declined, saying he couldn’t make additional purchases. Still believing he was corresponding with Henderson, Singleton continued to message the person to arrange reimbursement. When no response came, he contacted Henderson directly and learned that he had been communicating with an imposter. At that point, Singleton contacted the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office.
Chief Deputy Douglas confirmed that Henderson had been notified about the scam but was not involved. The imposter used a Google Voice number ending in 9951 to send the texts. The Sheriff’s Office is urging residents to be cautious of similar scams.