Houston man says he lost $8,000 after fake jury duty call
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Harris County officials are warning our community on Thursday about people posing as county employees making scam calls about not showing up for supposed jury duty.
One Houston man says he got that call and now he's lost $8,000. He told ABC13 the people responsible have all his personal information like an address and even provided him what he says were fake case numbers.
During that call, he tells ABC13, he was told by a person, who he believes was posing as a Harris County Sheriff's Office employee, that there was an arrest warrant out for him because he didn't show up to jury duty for a federal case.
He then said the imposter told him he'd be off the hook if he paid a cash surety bond through a business, they connected him with.
After being told to hand off the cash to a bondsman in a CVS parking lot near Montrose and Richmond, he sent an email to that business, and it bounced back. He also says the person that said they were with the bond office left the area. When he reported that over the phone to the person he believes was posing as a county employee, he said they hung on up on him.
That's the moment he says, he realized none of this was real.
"It all seemed very legitimate and in kind of a state of panic, wanting to stay out of jail, I didn't recognize any of the red flags in hindsight were there," the man, who didn't want to be identified, said.
The business was ASAP Bail Bonds in Houston. The owner tells ABC13 that is not how they conduct business.
"The industry doesn't operate like that. If anyone ever contacts you, and tells you, that you have a warrant and pay this amount of money, then that's not how it works," he said.
"My advice is contact Harris County. You can always find out if you do have a warrant. You can contact the police department. There are many ways. And if it is a bail bond company, I would suggest calling the office number. Not any card someone gives to you," Derick Dixon, owner of ASAP Bail Bonds, said.
