Scammers target Brazos County residents

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Over the past week, scammers have targeted Brazos County residents by impersonating two very different entities.

A viewer who wished to remain anonymous reached out to KBTX Thursday night and told their story about how they were scammed by someone who claimed they worked for the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office. The Texas A&M University Police Department confirmed that the victim submitted a fraud complaint the same day.

According to the victim, they received a phone call from a man who said he worked for the sheriff’s office. The man told the victim that they had failed to show up for a jury summons in December and then provided the victim with a case number and subpoena number. They then told the victim they had the option to pay a fine or turn themselves in and be in holding until Monday. Upset, the victim said they agreed to pay the fine and sent the money over using Venmo.

The victim said that the call dropped after the man attempted to get them to pay an additional fee to do a Zoom meeting with a judge. They then called Brazos County Jury Services who told them it was a scam.

Chris Searles, public information officer for the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office said they’ve had a couple of calls about the very same issue.

“We won’t call for money over the phone, we’re not going to do that, we don’t have any way of taking money over the phone, we don’t do Venmo or any kind of QR codes or anything like that,” Searles said. “If you are going to give us money you are going to come to the sheriff’s department and pay us directly so you know that’s legitimate, so if they are asking for a payment over the phone that’s not us.”

While these scam calls are a rare occurrence seen by law enforcement, scammers are getting crafter which is why Brazos County Jury Services said those who receive these types of calls should always verify information.

“They’re very sophisticated, the caller ID will even say sheriff’s department or something to that effect, they will give out case numbers and dates, and we’re not sure how they get this information,” Gabriel Garcia, Brazos County District Clerk said. ”It’s very important to know you never make payments over the phone with us.”

Earlier this week Bryan Texas Utilities posted on social media that they also have impersonators. BTU said that people have been going door to door claiming they work for the company trying to look at residents’ meters.

“We haven’t gotten to the point of what they’re trying to accomplish if they’re trying to get inside the home or if they are trying to get money from residents but it feels like a scam and so we wanted to let all our customers to know, to be aware of that,” BTU’s public information officer, Meagan Brown said.

BTU will always have their insignia on their clothing and vehicles and possess a badge along with a work order, Brown said.

“If you are unsure, you are welcome to give us a call at our main office. Our main office number is 979-821-5700 to confirm or after hours we do have an emergency line as well should someone need to access your property after hours,” Brown said.

There is also the option to call law enforcement who will send officers out to investigate.

“We can try to make contact with that subject or those people and find out what they are if they really are out there doing a job for BTU, Atmos, or anyone else, Metro, Metronet or Suddenlink, anything like that. If you feel unconformable call,” Searles said.

Searles said that scammers impersonating law enforcement can be arrested.