Increase in scams reported locally, agencies share what to look out for
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – The Brazos County Sheriff’s Office and College Station Police Department are warning people about phone and internet scams.
Thursday, CSPD reported a scam call to residents, coming from a number appearing to be from the police department, demanding money and making threats. Incidents like these are on the rise, according to Brazos County Deputy Christopher Searles.
“We definitely have seen an uptake in scams lately. They’re coming in all kinds of different forms,” he said these can be over the phone, online or even in person. “No law enforcement agency that I know of will call you and ask for money over the phone. We don’t do Venmo, we don’t do Zelle or any of that kind of stuff. If we have something that we need from you we’re going to come to you in person.”
Searles says if you notice a call that seems suspicious, you should ignore it or hang up. If law enforcement agencies are trying to contact you, you’ll know.
“We’ll send an officer, Deputy or whatever or we’ll come to your home or work and we’ll get whatever information that we need, but don’t give out your personal information. It’s too dangerous nowadays,” he said. “Don’t give out your information especially dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers, no bank account numbers, none of that.”
These warnings also go for phishing emails and scam links. Searles says the best practice for those suspecting a scam or hack is to contact the agency or business directly.
“You can hover the cursor over the email address and see if it is the correct address. You’ll notice that it might say Bank of America, but when you hover over it’ll give you the actual address and it won’t be Bank of America,” he said. “You can call them directly, your local branch and talk to them because they’re going to have a record of anything that’s being sent to you.”
If you believe you have been scammed you are encouraged to contact your local law enforcement agency.
