Share This Article
Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery will be the featured speaker at the Baxter County Historical and Genealogical Society’s monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 28 at 6 p.m. at the Donald W. Reynolds Library.
Montgomery will present a program titled “How to Spot and Avoid Scammers.” The program will cover the latest scams, red flag phrases to watch for and what to do if a resident believes they are being scammed.
The meeting will also include a report on the society’s Spring Open House, restoration work on the Casey House and upgrades at the Historical Museum.
The Historical Society meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month in the Knox Room of the library. The meeting is open to the public.
For more information, contact Tink Albright at 870-656-4095 or Sonny Sharp at 870-404-8516.
A familiar topic for the sheriff
Montgomery has spent much of the past year working to educate Baxter County residents on how to recognize and avoid fraud. The Baxter County Sheriff’s Office partnered with Trilogy Media and the Mountain Home Police Department on a series of sting operations targeting “money mules” sent by overseas scammers to pick up cash from local victims.
Those operations were featured on the Fox Nation streaming series “Scammed: Getting Even.” Episode Four, which aired in November, focused on the Baxter County operation.
In one September 2025 case, scammers impersonated Montgomery himself by phone and instructed an elderly Baxter County man to send $250,000 in cash to Mountain Home via FedEx. The victim cooperated with law enforcement, and two suspects from Alabama were arrested when they arrived to pick up the package.
A December follow-up operation netted three additional arrests after a money mule was sent to collect $250,000 in cash from an 86-year-old Mountain Home man.
Red flags Montgomery has shared
Montgomery has shared a list of warning signs at past speaking events and on KTLO call-in programs. He has urged residents to hang up immediately and report the call to law enforcement if any of the following happen.
The caller tells the resident not to call law enforcement. The resident is instructed to go to the bank and withdraw cash. The resident is asked to pay anything, even one dollar, to receive a prize. The caller asks the resident to buy gift cards and either mail them or read off the numbers on the back.
The caller claims to be from the IRS. The IRS does not call taxpayers. The caller says a relative is in jail and asks the resident not to call anyone to verify. The caller says the resident missed jury duty and will be arrested unless they pay. Law enforcement does not call residents that way.
A pop-up appears on the resident’s computer telling them to call Microsoft or Google. The caller asks for a Social Security number or bank account number.
The Sheriff’s Office urges anyone who suspects they are being scammed to contact local law enforcement.
