Harris County constable warns scam warrant calls asking for payment

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - Harris County residents are warned to remain vigilant amid reports of a scam involving fraudulent phone calls alleged to be from the Harris County Constable’s office.

According to Constable Mark Herman, some people have received calls claiming they have outstanding warrants and must make immediate payments to avoid arrest.

However, Constable Herman stresses that he and his office staff would never call you seeking payments over the phone, even if the scammer uses the name of actual staff personnel.

Senior Deputy Thomas Gilliland echoed similar concerns, mentioning a surge in gift card scams.

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Gilliland stated these scams which happen over the phone usually have a person pretending to be a representative from a well-known company or government entity who requests urgent gift card purchases.

"Gift card scams take many forms. The scams can be conducted over the phone, via email, or without ever coming into contact with the suspect. All of the scams involve the suspect obtaining the bar code or serial number on the back of the card."

Courtesy of Mark Herman, Harris County Constable Precinct 4 via Facebook

The senior deputy also mentioned another common gift card scam in which a person steals cards from a chain store, records the serial numbers, and then returns them to the store. The funds on the card are immediately stolen when a customer purchases and activates the card.

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To minimize the risk of falling victim to gift card scams, Gilliland recommended purchasing eGift cards directly from merchants' official websites.

If someone believes they are a victim of a gift card scam, notify the store the card was purchased from, and file a police report. Provide all documentation in reference to your purchase of the card when filing the police report.