RHS football warns against sponsor scam

A new apparent scam has been identified in Russellville, with invoices purporting to be for donations to the Russellville Golden Tiger Football program.

Some local businesses have reported receiving letters asking for an amount of $199 to go toward the Russellville High School 2021 football poster.

“This is not from us or how we do business,” said head football coach John Ritter. 

The letter includes an area for credit card information or directs checks to be made payable to a company named All About Sports, in Virginia.

Ritter said Russellville football will not ask anyone to make checks payable to anyone other than Russellville football, with the Russellville City Schools address.

“This is a scam,” Ritter said. “Do not fall victim to this sort of thing.”

Russellville Police Chief Chris Hargett said he found out about the scam when the police station received a call from someone who received one of these letters.

After verifying with the school that RHS was not involved, Russellville Police Department began to warn people about the scam.

“With something like this that is local, we always recommend calling the school number directly and verifying with them,” Hargett said. 

Hargett said it is important to call the main number because the number listed with the potential scam will most likely be a scam number.

Ritter said he also encourages anyone who receives a request from Russellville football to contact him with questions.

Hargett said it is always important to take scams like this seriously because there are always groups, such as the elderly, who will fall prey to them.

“Scamming used to not be as common as it is now, so it is something they aren’t used to having to watch out for,” Hargett said.

Hargett said there have also been instances in Russellville where people have fallen victim to scams and lost thousands of dollars.

Hargett said anyone who has questions about the legitimacy of something can request the police department look into it.