SCAM ALERT!!!

***** SCAM ALERT *****

We have been notified that one or more persons have been contacted by an individual claiming to be Sergeant Walker from the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office .

This individual told the victim that they had pending misdemeanor charges for missing jury duty and needed to report to 220 S. Pierce to take of the charges. Another victim was told to pay through a money pac card.

These calls are ALWAYS A SCAM.

No agency of government will demand payment by gift card or other difficult-to-trace methods.

If you ever receive a call like this that claims to be from BCSO, a utility company, or any other police or government agency, hang up on them. If you are still concerned about the call, contact the agency directly, or contact someone you trust to help you figure it out.

Phone numbers for any utility service or branch of government are really available on the Internet. Look them up yourselves and contact that entity directly. Never use the phone number given to you by the person that called you.

Different versions of this scam include claims that some payment is needed for a package delivery, or to secure a prize, or to get a loved one out of jail, and so on and so on….

Often, the scammer will demand secrecy and insist that the victim not discuss the transaction with anyone. This is the biggest red-flag of all.

If you have elderly friends or relatives, please speak to them about these scams and urge them to never send money over the phone by any means.

Finally, if you or your loved ones are unable to decide whether a call is a scam or not, contact your local police agency at their published non-emergency office number.

For our Burnet County residents, that number is 512-756-8080.

DO NOT SEND MONEY USING GIFT CARDS OR MONEY-TRANSFER CARDS/SERVICES.

Once the money is transferred, it will most likely be re-transferred out of the country and will be unrecoverable.

The origin of these scams is usually overseas…. Which means the investigation is essentially a dead end and nobody will be held accountable.