Both the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office and Roanoke Rapids Police Department are reporting separate scams.

Chief Deputy Wes Tripp said Thursday Deputy Danny Radford answered a call from a citizen in the Roanoke Rapids area who had received a postcard in the mail stating they won a $100 gift card from Walmart or Target.

The citizen called the number on the post card (1-888-258-4127) and talked with a person with a foreign accent.

The person instructed the citizen to send $2 to receive their gift card.

The citizen refused and asserted that they wanted their name removed from the calling list.

The person then requested the citizen’s 16-digit credit card number to be removed from the contact list.

When the citizen refused, the person became irate. Walmart in Roanoke Rapids was called and knew nothing of this so-called promotion.

The public is urged to use extreme caution in providing credit card numbers over the phone. “There’s so many different scams out there, when you have a doubt, just don’t do it,” Tripp said in a press release. “If you should receive any of these type scam calls, please contact your local law enforcement agency.”

Roanoke Rapids

Meanwhile, Chief Jeff Hinton reported that several local people have had their Yahoo email accounts hacked and emails are going out to their friends to send money to them.

The email says the friends are in another country and need help. Yahoo is aware of the scam, Hinton said.