GRIMES COUNTY, Texas (KRHD) — Law enforcement officials across the Brazos Valley are warning residents about an uptick in scam calls, particularly those targeting elderly community members during the holiday season.
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The Grimes County Sheriff's Office is among several agencies dealing with fraudulent calls, with scammers showing no mercy for vulnerable populations.
"Their only goal is to steal and they don't care if it's an 88-year-old lady, a widow, and they con them out of their life savings or a portion of their life savings; they have no conscience, zero," Grimes County Sheriff Don Sowell said.
While scam calls occur year-round, law enforcement reports that they become more frequent during the holidays. Robertson County has recently seen a new type of scam where callers falsely claim to represent local sheriff's offices or fire departments while soliciting donations.
"Somebody calls and says they're representing the sheriff's office and or the fire departments and raising money and asking for money. Fortunately, we haven't had anybody give any money to that yet," Robertson County Sheriff Bill Ruland said.
Sowell noted that scammers particularly target older residents, which he finds especially troubling.
"So many times it just breaks my heart to see the elderly have have savings wiped out like that," Sowell said.
How to protect yourself
Ruland advises residents to never provide personal information to suspicious callers.
"Don't give them any information. Don't give them a Social Security number. Don't give them a driver's license number. Don't give them your address and, please just don't give them any money," Ruland said.
Scammers can manipulate caller ID to make it appear they're calling from legitimate local numbers, including law enforcement agencies.
"They can spoof it to make it look like the sheriff's office; they can for anybody," Ruland said.
Sowell shared his own experience with impersonation scams, recalling when someone called claiming to be him.
"I even had one impersonate me, a year or two ago. So I called this brilliant sheriff, Don Sowell back, and he claimed he was me and I said no, you're not cowboy, no, you're not, I am…click," Sowell said.
Red flags to watch for
Ruland emphasized that legitimate law enforcement agencies do not operate the way scammers claim.
"That these are scams. The law enforcement does not call you and tell you, hey, you got a warrant, we're gonna put you in jail if you don't pay money. It just doesn't happen," Ruland said.
Law enforcement recommends hanging up on any suspicious calls and contacting your local sheriff's office directly to verify any claims made by callers.
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