Many Boerne residents have received “the call” — You have missed jury duty, and there is now a warrant out for your arrest. You must pay $1,500 today or a sheriff's deputy will be dispatched for your arrest.
Telephone scams are becoming more prevalent every day, and Kendall County residents are being barraged by the warrant scam, according to Sheriff’s Office Lt. Kevin Klaerner.
“It’s really ramped up recently,” Klaerner said. “We started getting a couple calls the week (of Sept. 9-13), but last week was pretty hot and heavy.”
Klaerner said residents calling the sheriff’s office said they are being told they have a warrant because they failed to appear for jury duty.
“They’ve used Deputy Dullnig, they’ve used Lt. Matjeka. They used Officer Davis, who’s no longer with the department,” he said.
“We will never ever, ever call anybody and first, tell them they have a warrant, and more importantly call for payment over the phone,” the lieutenant said. “That’s never going to happen.”
He said the scammers “are playing on your fear, that ‘if I don’t do anything, I’ll get in trouble.’” Scammers have been known to stay on the phone while the victim drives to a Walmart, a Walgreens, an H-E-B, and buys a series of “gift cards,” placing a desired amount on each card.
“As soon as they get it, it’s going everywhere. Once you give (the card number) to them, it’s gone. These people know what they are doing,” he said.
People will call the sheriff’s office a day or two later, once they realize they’ve been scammed. “By then, they are on to the next victim, the next scam.”
Klaerner said anytime anyone calls and requests money over the phone, it is best to ask for information about the caller’s organization or group, hang up, and call them — or your bank — to verify the information you’ve been told.
“They are targeting people who are not particularly social media or tech-savvy,” he said. “We’re trying to get the information out to as many groups, organizations and people as we can.”
If you feel you have been a victim of a recent scam, call Klaerner at the sheriff’s office at 830-249-9721.
“If you feel you are being scammed, or you have doubts about the legitimacy of a call, hang up. Right then. Then call us,” he said.
There is no “typical” scam victim. Male, female, rich, poor, Anglo, Asian, Hispanic, businessman, housewife, retiree, single, married — scammers don’t care, he said.
“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Klaerner said. “At the end of the day, you’ve become a victim of a scammer that’s played on your emotions, your fears of the moment. There’s no reason to be embarrassed. If anything, call to find out yes, it was a scam.”
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