Scammers targeting Denton County residents

Scammers claiming to be Denton County Sheriff’s officials are targeting local residents, according to Denton County and the Denton Police Department.

Denton PD has received several reports of a jury duty scam where a professional-sounding caller identifies himself as “Officer Taylor” or “Lt. Antonio Rodriguez” with the Denton County Sheriff’s Office, and claims a warrant has been issued for the call recipient for failing to appear for jury duty. The scammer tells the call recipient that they can surrender to the police or pay $1,800 in fees, according to a news release from Denton County.

The scammer then instructs the resident to buy “secured funds” cards, also known as MoneyPaks, in $300-500 denominations and read the numbers off the MoneyPaks over the phone.

The Denton County Sheriff’s Office, Denton County Jury Services and the Denton Police Department do not call people regarding missed jury service or warrants for their arres, and they certainly don’t accept payment by gift card.