ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Some Northeast Florida jails are making significant changes to how mugshots and booking information are accessed online, in an effort to combat a growing scam targeting the families of recently arrested individuals.
The St. Johns County Jail was among the first agencies to take down its inmate search page after receiving multiple complaints about scams.
Investigators uncovered that an inmate at an Alabama prison was behind many of these schemes. According to an arrest report, using a cell phone, the inmate pretended to be a bail bondsman, contacting the relatives of jailed individuals and convincing them to send money through Venmo, Cash App, or Zelle to secure their loved one’s release.
“They were using our inmate log,” St. Johns County Jail commander Misty North said. “The jail log kept track of all of our arrests in real-time. It had their photo, their charges.”
The scammers would use information for people who were arrested and booked into jail with low bonds. They also impersonated local bondsmen.
“The local bondsmen were upset because their names were being used,” North said. North said it diminished their credibility.
While the St. Johns County Jail’s inmate search page remains offline, efforts are underway to restore it with new safeguards.
“We are currently working on getting that back up where you can just only search by name which limits the information the scammers can pull off the internet,” North said.
The Camden County Sheriff’s Office is also upgrading its jail log system before bringing it back online.
News media and legal professionals will continue to have full access to booking logs to ensure transparency and proper reporting.