Addie McCluskey
Elmore Autauga News
District 3 Commissioner Dennis Hill warned residents of the identity theft crisis across the country, April 27, 2026, in his closing comments at the Elmore County Commission’s work session.
Hill said the issue is especially common among older residents, who may be less familiar with digital technology and more likely to believe the phone calls, emails, and other notifications from those falsely claiming to be law enforcement.
“They’re [Elmore County Sheriff’s Office] averaging one to two cases a day that come in,” said Hill. “We had one person lose between 15 and 20 thousand dollars, and we had another one, and this is just the two I know about right now, lose between 45 and 50 thousand dollars, all from a phone call.”
Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin agreed with the significance of the issue, noting that rapidly evolving technology is making scams more sophisticated and harder to detect. He explained that recent advancements, including artificial intelligence (AI), have caused identity theft cases to skyrocket. With well over 50% of the cases in Elmore County being among residents 55 and older, Franklin urges citizens to be vigilant.
“These people are very educated, and they have intel that sometimes surpasses what we have,” said Franklin. “In this day and era, nobody’s calling you to help you. Unless you know the person you are talking to, if somebody calls you to help get a loved one out of jail, do not have any dealings with them. Hang up.”
Franklin said some victims have also received calls claiming that they had a warrant for their arrest, that they missed a Grand Jury, or that they missed a court date, and they must submit payment to the caller to avoid being arrested.
The Elmore County Sheriff’s Office will never call a citizen and ask for money. If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be with law enforcement and are unsure if it’s legitimate, hang up and call the sheriff’s office at 334-567-5546.
