Texas Sheriff Warns About Phone Scam And Fake Deputies
COLLIN COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) - A warning from the Collin County Sheriff's Office -- officials want to make residents in their county and across North Texas aware of people posing as Collin County Deputy Sheriffs and taking money.
Officials with the Sheriff's Office say people are being called and told that there has been a warrant issued for their arrest because they failed to answer a jury summons.
The person is told to gather what they need, all the while staying on the phone, and drive to the Sheriff's Office in McKinney to meet a "deputy" in the parking lot and pay the fine.
Captain Jim Moody, a Sheriff's Office spokesman, said the criminals deliberately try to keep their victims on the phone. "I think that they believe that if they keep you on the phone you can't call and validate it."
Sheriffs say this is a textbook definition of a scam and that no Collin County Deputy or any other law enforcement official would ever contact something and ask that they bring cash to pay a fine -- let alone in the parking lot. Members of law enforcement don't accept money, in any form, from citizens to settle a court case.
Sheriffs are asking that anyone contacted in this manner call their local police department or contact the Collin County Sheriff's Office at 972-547-5100.
While the Sheriff's Office says they will "pursue these fraudsters until they are captured," they are asking that everyone spread the word about the scam and help "put these crooks behind bars where they belong."