Nacogdoches Sheriff Warns Of Phone Scam Threatening Area Residents

The Nacogdoches County Sheriff's Office is warning area residents of a scam that is targeting Nacogdoches area residents.

How Does The Scam Work?

Scammers are calling residents in Nacogdoches County and impersonating Sheriff Jason Bridges.

These suspects are identifying themselves as the Nacogdoches County Sheriff and then advising our citizens that they have a bench warrant and fines for failing to appear for Federal Jury duty.

The scammers use intimidating tactics to convince and scare people. They try to keep people on the phone the entire time and threaten them not to hang up, and tell people they are under mobile surveillance.

They are telling people to get large amounts of money and go to a cash kiosk. The scammers will then give them a 10-digit code, advising that it is a Federal ID Code when, in fact, it is a code to retrieve the money.

READ MORE: Recent Nacodgoches County Felony Arrests

Scammers Doing Their Homework

The scammers are also using other names of well-known supervisors who work for the Sheriff’s Office. The Scammers are doing their homework and also know the names of other elected officials in our county.

The callers are using several different numbers, but in at least one instance, they made the number of the Sheriff’s office appear on the caller ID.

What To Do If You Receive A Call Like This

If anyone calls you representing themselves from an entity of Nacogdoches County and demands money and also threatens to arrest you, that is 100% a scam. If you receive a call like this, please hang up and call the Nacogdoches Sheriff's Dispatch at 936-559-2600 to report this.

Despite scammers having more tools at their disposal, it is always important to know that Federal or State Government entities will NEVER call you on the phone and demand money or try to intimidate you.

You would never be asked to put money on a card or into a kiosk. Likewise, if you have missed jury duty, you would not be called and threatened to pay a fine. Any contact by Government agencies will largely occur by mail to your home address.