Sullivan’s Island police, LENS to host scam, phishing awareness meeting

Sullivan’s Island police, LENS to host scam, phishing awareness meeting

Meeting comes after town emails were hacked earlier this year

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) — The Sullivan’s Island Police Department and LENS of Sullivan’s Island are hosting a scam and phishing awareness meeting this week after an email scam hit the town.

Some town emails were hacked in early August. Town leaders want to make sure residents can tell what’s real and what’s not.

As a part of a larger IT protection push, the town is strengthening its online security with DUO over the next week.

Police, LENS partner on resources

In a statement, Sullivan’s Island Police Chief Glenn Meadows said, “Scams are becoming more sophisticated, and unfortunately, it’s easy for anyone to become a victim. We want to make sure our residents know what to look for and, just as importantly, what to do if someone tries to scam them. This is a great opportunity for us to partner with the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs and bring that information directly to our community. Our goal is simple: give people the knowledge they need to protect themselves and their families.”

After the town email scam, law enforcement reached out to LENS Sullivan’s Island, a segment of the Law Enforcement Neighborhood Support Foundation of Charleston, to look into resources.

LENS Sullivan’s Island’s Director Ali Berney said their goal is to connect the community and law enforcement to the best education tools to protect themselves.

“These scams have become incredibly sophisticated and especially with things like AI, it’s more prevalent than ever. Things like spoofing phone numbers and impersonating institutions that you believe and trust have become so prevalent,” Berney said.

Berney also said scam calls are not limited to a specific age group.

“It’s important for people to just know that these things exist and it’s easy to fall victim to them. I have also received one of these scam calls and had to think twice about how I responded. So I think just the awareness that they exist is really important,” Berney said.

Some scam-avoidance tips include double-checking that emails are coming from a known account and not sharing any valuable personal information over the phone or email.

LENS of Sullivan’s Island, the Sullivan’s Island Police Department and the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs will provide scam resources at the meeting.

The meeting is Thursday from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Sunrise Presbyterian Church on Sullivan’s Island. Attendees do not have to be Sullivan’s Island residents.

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