Over the weekend, multiple residents made posts regarding staff at the Nueces County Sheriff's Office about missing jury duty and needing to make payments.
According to Nueces County Sheriff JC Hooper, the audio above is an example of scam calls residents across the county have been receiving for a while.
"We’ve been dealing with this over 10 years," he said.
This trend has made its way back around with the most recent scam happening just days ago where residents in Calallen and Robstown have been victims of this crime.
“The scams they change a bit over the years, but the bottom line is they target the elderly.”
The scam calls are made by those impersonating real deputies by using their name and asking for cash payments, gift cards, and crypto currency.
So far, Hooper says 6 of his staff members have been impersonated, with Lieutenant Eric Wood being the most recent victim.
“They will use the name of an employee, a deputy, a sergeant," he said when discussing their methods. "The chief deputy has been involved as well. His name has been used."
KRIS 6 News reporter Tyrese Boone spoke to the Chief Deputy David Cook, who mentions he became a victim to this scam two years ago.
“Somebody was using my name and rank was calling various numbers and telling individuals they had outstanding warrants or outstanding fines," Cook said.
So, how can neighbors spot this scam? Well, the sheriff enforces this rule plain and clear: ignore the calls.
“We will never call you if you have a warrant," he said. "We will never call you if you missed jury duty. We will never call you if you owe us money or owe the county money. We will come visit you."
The sheriff says the numbers could also be spoofed to make you think the call is coming from their office, which it is not. To alert the office…… use the NCSO's app and report it as soon as you can so deputies can spread the word.
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