NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – The New Braunfels Police Department says they are investigating two cases of fraud in the area where victims say they received phone calls from scammers claiming to be law enforcement officials.
According to police, the scammers were able to convince the New Braunfels victims to give them money.
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Community Scam Alert The New Braunfels Police Department has investigated two recent cases of fraud where the victims...
Posted by New Braunfels Police Department on Thursday, February 4, 2021
Police say the callers claimed the victims had missed jury duty or were guilty of some other crime and that they will be “detained” over the phone and face an arrest unless they pay their fines immediately.
The department said the callers instructed the victims to “purchase hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, worth of gift cards or prepaid credit cards from a nearby store.”
The victims were instructed to give the caller the information from the back of the cards as a form of “payment” to avoid arrest or further legal action, the department said.
According to the department, no law enforcement agency will ever do the following:
- Detain you over the phone.
- Demand immediate payment to avoid arrest or legal action.
- Ask you to purchase anything — including gift cards or prepaid credit cards.
The department said the two recent cases involved victims who were in their 40′s and 50′s. So, this type of scam calling is not just limited to elderly residents.
To learn more about the types of fraud that you could face, visit the FBI’s Common Fraud Schemes website.
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