The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office has temporarily taken down its online inmate list after scammers started posing as bail bondsmen to trick families out of money.

Officials say these fraudsters look up inmates—sometimes using booking photos—and contact their relatives, pretending they can help get their loved ones out of jail for a fee.

Sheriff Robert Hardwick spoke about the problem last week on 904 Now.

“They call before the real bondsmen and pretend to be one,” he said. “It sounds so real. These scams are hurting people.”

In one case, a scammer called a worried mother after her son was arrested. He told her he could get him released and into rehab for $750. She sent the money, only to realize later that it was a scam.

Investigators linked one scammer to four cases in St. Johns County and seven others in Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The culprit turned out to be an inmate in an Alabama prison.

To stop these scams, the sheriff’s office removed the online inmate list and plans to bring it back with better security. They are also reviewing how mugshots are released, and changes could be made statewide.

Hardwick said inmates are already serving time for their crimes and should not be targets for more wrongdoing or online harassment.

“We need to get better control of this,” he said, adding that many inmates are struggling with addiction and commit minor crimes to support their habits.