A scam is circulating in Smith County.

A new scam is circulating in Smith County.

The Smith County Sheriff’s Office said a civil probate-related scam is the latest ploy at targeting vulnerable victims.

In the most recent case, the scam involved an email sent to a person who had actually hired a local law firm to assist in probating an estate, the sheriff’s office said. The person called their law firm, who in turn contacted the Smith County Clerk’s Office. The law firm was able to determine this was actually a fraudulent email.

“The sender fraudulently used the name of our county clerk and used a similar email through a Gmail account,” the sheriff’s office said. “The information was most likely obtained through public records by utilizing the internet. This could have easily been mistaken as a legitimate email and the recipient could have been victimized.”

Fortunately, the recipient felt unsure about the email and their attorney’s office took a proactive approach, the sheriff’s office said.

“The Smith County Clerk’s Office will never send anyone an email asking for money,” the sheriff’s office added. “If you receive an email such as this, please scrutinize it carefully and take note of the sender’s email address. If you have any questions as to the veracity of any email, please call the county office represented in the correspondence.”