Public Service Announcement for Current Scams

We have all come to know that scammers and scams have become an every day trap to try and avoid. The Cleburne County Sheriff's Office tries to keep everyone up to date on current scams to try and limit the amount of people that can be impacted by these bad actors. There are currently two issues that the public needs to be aware of.

1. Verizon accounts - Verizon phone accounts are being opened in people's name, using their correct and real address. It is believed this is being done to obtain hardware goods, i.e. phones, etc. Victims are finding out this has been done after they receive letters in the mail from Verizon stating that they owe money for an account opened and goods purchased that haven't yet been paid for. The victim receives the notice that they will be turned over to collections if the bill is not paid. Unfortunately, there is nothing victims can proactively do to prevent this scheme. The accounts being opened are real accounts, and the communication from Verizon is also real. However, the account was opened by someone other than the name holder. This has been seen several times recently in the area, and the Sheriff's Office is conducting an investigation to see if we can determine who the bad actors are.

2. Warrants/Missed Jury Duty - People are receiving threatening phone calls from someone who claims to be a law enforcement officer (often times they use the real and correct name of a local law enforcement officer, which makes this seem very real). The caller claims that the victim has a warrant for missing jury duty or some other issue, and that the victim must either risk being arrested, or pay a fine to stay out of jail. The caller usually demands immediate payment via a gift card, or prepaid debit/credit card (not a regular bank card). On several occasions, we've even seen callers ask victims to drive to the Sheriff's Office to make the payment. HOWEVER, they always ask for the payment to be made over the phone, instead of coming inside. This tactic makes the call seem more legitimate, when in fact, it is still a scam. In general, we do not call people who have warrants, or people who miss jury duty. If you receive a call like that, it is more likely a scam than a legitimate call. In all cases, please contact our Sheriff's Office or your local law enforcement agency to help determine if it's a scam.

The Cleburne County Sheriff's Office can be contacted at (501)362-8143, or dispatch at (501)362-8291. We will also issue a second press release momentarily with some crime prevention and scam prevention tips.

-Sheriff Chris Brown