Scam likely: Burnet law enforcement warns against continued phone scams
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The Burnet County Sheriff’s Office and Burnet Police Department recently shared separate statements addressing increasing reports of phone and text scams aimed at county residents.
BPD’s statement, posted to the City of Burnet’s Facebook page on Jan. 21, warned community members of a possible phone scam that involved callers mimicking Spectrum representatives to try and get targets to send them gift cards.
“In two separate incidents, the caller offered a ‘deal’ to lower the monthly Spectrum bill,” read the statement. “They used (personal) information to build trust, then tried to get the target to provide more details and, in some cases, to buy large-dollar Target gift cards.”
BCSO released its own statement on Jan. 22 detailing a scam that involved residents receiving a chain of text messages from someone impersonating the Sheriff’s Office, threatening to arrest the target if they do not pay a bond.
The scammer would then request unconventional payment through methods like gift cards, Bitcoin, or other cryptocurrency.
“Burnet County law enforcement and the Burnet County courts will never demand immediate payment using these unconventional payment methods,” read the BCSO release.
BPD and BCSO clarified the waning signs of these potential scams and urged residents to verify the validity of such messages before engaging with them. The departments suggested not sharing personal information over the phone, not purchasing gift cards to pay a bill, and calling the verified phone number of the department or company that the scammer claims to be representing.
Both departments urged community members to share this information with friends and family, especially older adults who are often targets of these scams.
For more information or to report a scam, visit the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office website or call at 512-756-8080, or the Burnet Police Department’s website or call at 512-756-6404.