‘Warrant for your arrest’ scam

The Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office recently sent out a press release warning citizens of a “Warrant for your arrest” scam taking place in town.
Suspects in this scam are calling local citizens demanding payment of a bail or fine to prevent arrest. These suspects are identifying themselves as law enforcement and supplying various reasons for the warrant of arrest. The most recent reports have been told they have missed jury duty.

Suspects most often “spoof” the caller ID number to reflect the name and number of a local law enforcement agency. As with other scams, the suspects instruct each person to obtain a prepaid credit card and give them the displayed front card number and the card code from the back of the card.

Facts:

• Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office will never solicit direct payment for a warrant by any means.
• Payments related to warrants are handled by the court that issued the warrant.
• A person will never be restricted to a prepaid credit card as a form of warrant payment.
• When providing the front and back numbers to a prepaid credit card, a suspect can access the funds to that card anywhere in the world.

Actions to combat this SCAM:

• Do not engage in conversation with the caller.
• Do not return voicemails to these types of calls.
• Contact the court office directly to inquire about bail or fine payment.
• Call your local law enforcement agency directly to inquire if an employee is trying to reach you.
• Report the SCAM incident to your local law enforcement agency.