Why Is an Unknown Inmate From Jail Asking Me for Money?

Do not set up any account or put any money on any inmate account until you know exactly who you are dealing with. This is a known scam that circulates inside jails and prisons. Inmates sometimes contact random people or use numbers found in other inmates' address books, asking them to fund accounts. The money ends up in the inmate's commissary and the person on the outside is left with nothing. If you do not know who is asking, do not send anything.

The jail will not tell you which inmate requested the account, and the phone service provider does not volunteer that information either. The way these systems work is that an inmate dials your number, the call routes through the carrier, and you get prompted to set up an account to accept it. The request comes through the phone system rather than the jail directly.

If you want to find out who it is, the safest way is to accept a single call without committing to anything else. Hearing the voice will tell you immediately whether you recognize the person. You are not obligated to set up a full account just to receive one call.

If you have no interest in finding out, or if you want to make sure calls from that facility stop reaching you entirely, contact the phone service provider for Shakopee and ask to have your number blocked. That ends it cleanly.