LIBERTY COUNTY, Texas - A recent scam operation is reported to be using police information to get money transfers.
Surrounding Houston area sheriff's offices (S.O.) have said over the last few days, scam callers have pretended to be law enforcement and threatened people with arrest for an alleged federal warrant. They say to avoid this arrest, a specific amount of money needs to be sent to the respective sheriff’s office immediately.
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Liberty County S.O., Harris County S.O., Hardin County S.O., Jefferson County S.O., and Chambers County S.O. have been involved in these calls.
Liberty County sheriff’s deputies reported the callers will give the person the actual phone number of the LCSO, give the name of past or present deputies to contact, and then give a second phone number to those same deputies to arrange for the money transfer and a recall of the alleged "federal warrant".
The caller will also use the names of Liberty County judges to make the scam seem authentic. They use the fear of immediate arrest if the money is not sent and tell them the money needs to be sent in a certain time frame to force people to comply.
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FOX 26 Reporter Sherman Desselle spoke with the man who said the call seemed real.
Another agency reported that in their county, the operation is now targeting Nurses and Physician Assistants. The scam suspects will sometimes use different stories and numbers to scare people into making a decision without checking facts first.
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LCSO wants the public to know they and any other law enforcement agency do not handle their warrant services in this manner. If anyone should receive this scam call, officials ask you to call the LCSO immediately at 936-336-4500 and not to call the numbers given by the caller.
As always, if you suspect a scam call, hang up and report the call to your local law enforcement agency.