Guilford County Sheriff Alerts Residents to Holiday Scams
On Nov. 14, 2025 the Guilford County Sheriff's Office issued guidance warning residents about common holiday scams and offering practical steps to avoid becoming victims. The advisory matters to local households because it outlines specific prevention actions, a local reporting channel, and a county camera registry option that can aid investigations.
The Guilford County Sheriff's Office published a public advisory on Nov. 14, 2025 aimed at reducing holiday season fraud by alerting residents to common schemes and advising concrete steps they can take to protect money, personal information, and deliveries. The office emphasized that it will never call and demand payment over the phone, and it urged residents to verify claims and report suspicious activity through local channels.
The release lists several prevention measures, including not sending money to callers who claim to be from the sheriff's office, verifying claims by calling the sheriff's office at 336 641 3694, reporting suspicious activity, ignoring unknown phone numbers, and avoiding clicking links in unsolicited emails and texts. The advisory also warns about charity and donation scams and advises residents to verify charities before contributing. Package theft is highlighted as a seasonal problem, with the release encouraging residents to take steps to secure deliveries and to register home security cameras with the county camera registry to assist investigations.
For Guilford County residents the guidance has immediate practical implications. Households that receive unexpected requests for payments or personal data can use the sheriff's office phone line to confirm legitimacy, and those who sign up for the camera registry can make footage available quickly if packages are stolen or other crimes occur. The county also provided a link to additional anti scam resources and a local reporting point on the Guilford County website at guilfordcountync.gov.
From a governance perspective the advisory illustrates the role of local law enforcement in public education and crime prevention. Outreach like this can strengthen community trust and improve reporting rates, which in turn helps law enforcement allocate resources and analyze patterns of fraud and property crime. The advisory also underscores the need for continued investment in public information campaigns and tools that allow residents to partner with authorities.
Residents should treat unsolicited calls and messages with caution, verify requests through official channels, and report incidents to local authorities so patterns can be tracked and addressed.
