LIMESTONE COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — A sad reality happening right here in our own community, scammers still preying on us for as long as they can.
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25News' Bobby Poitevint spoke to a Limestone County Sheriff Murray Agnew to learn more about what scams are hitting our area and what he recommends to our neighbors.
He said sadly, people still fall victim to all kinds of online scams including scammers posing as celebrates who are down on their luck wanting to steal your money.
As we all know, scammers have many faces like an online seller wanting to give you a steal of a deal, or impersonating a cop, sheriff's deputy, or someone from the court trying to help you avoid being arrested but they don’t want to help.
Sheriff Agnew weighs in on how often they get these kinds of reports.
“When the scams get started sometimes it’ll be multiply times a week and then sometimes it’ll slow down and it’s just sporadic, once a week, once every two or three weeks and then they seem to come back around on a cycle a little bit later on.”
Bobby followed up and asked, “but how often do you think that yall physically get someone that’s like ‘I did fall to this (scam)?"
He replied, “Several times monthly.“
Sheriff Agnew said, If you’re worried about that arrest or warrant, hang up the phone and look up the actual number for that agency or sheriff’s office and call them directly to verify what you heard over the phone and don’t use the number that the scammer used.
Remember, he said, deputies won’t ask for a bunch of your personal information over the phone.
If you’re buying something online like Facebook marketplace, Sheriff Agnew recommends asking to FaceTime or video chat with the seller, make sure they are a real person and try to see as much of the item before you buy it.
Even ask for certain photos of the item and don’t just accept the first photos they send you.
Sheriff Agnew said they do investigate these scams and do have wins sometimes but adds scammers can often create complex webs to hide their identities which can prove challenging for any investigator.
He emphasizes it is important to report scam calls to your local law enforcement when they happen.
