TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — The Tarrant County Sheriff's Office (TCSO) is warning about a surge in threatening scam calls this holiday season.
Scammers are posing as sheriff's deputies, threatening them with arrest, or claiming you may have missed a court appearance and are not in contempt of the courts, officials said.
TCSO said the scams involve asking victims to stay on the phone while purchasing Green Dot cards, gift cards, or using Zelle or Cashapp to pay the fraudulent fine or bond.
The sheriff’s office said it will never ask for money or ask people to pay with gift cards or any other unusual payment method. People will never be asked to send money in that manner for missing jury duty or to pay a bond.
TCSO said the scammer may be calling from numbers that appear to be legitimate. So if you're not sure if a call is real, call the local sheriff's department and not the number that called you. If you live in the unincorporated areas of Tarrant County, you can contact them at 817-884-1213.
For more information and tips on detecting scams, click this link.
