Suspect tried scam using name of Tarrant County deputy who died
On Wednesday, the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department laid to rest one of its own, Executive Chief Deputy Alan Dennis
Just 48 hours later, they received a report someone had identified themselves as Dennis as part of a scam.
A man called a Texas Christian University professor and asked her to pay off a fine for missing jury duty. The professor had been out of town for a long period so she was an easy target, according to Terry Grisham, a spokesman for the department.
The suspect told her that she needed to pay her fine in the form of a “bond card,” essentially just a gift credit card, in this case loaded at Kroger, Grisham said.
Grisham said such scams are common. This isn’t the first time such a case has involved the department.
In January 2015, Chief Executive Deputy Bob Knowles died and was impersonated in March of that year, Grisham said.
The TCU professor did not pay the fine, and called authorities. “The only way to really stop this is to educate the public that it’s out there,” Grisham said Sunday. “No police agency is going to collect fines over the phone.”
Just a few days ago, Flower Mound investigators closed 53 police impersonation cases from indictments in Georgia in which former correctional officers are accused of providing cellphones to inmates who posed as police and contacted town residents.
The inmates told Flower Mound residents that they owed money for a missed jury summons or a red light ticket. In all, inmates who posed as police collected $5,915.80 from Jan. 27, 2015, to Nov. 2, 2015, police said.
In indictments unsealed last month in Georgia, federal prosecutors accused 53 people of participating in the scheme. The indictments included former Georgia Department of Corrections officers, private facility officers, civilians and inmates.
Correctional officers are accused of being bribed to smuggle contraband cellphones in the prison, the indictments say. Officers are also accused of purchasing prepaid cards for the inmates.
The inmates used their smartphones to find victims through Google search or the white pages website, posing as law enforcement agents and calling people around the country, the indictments say.
Staff writer Domingo Ramirez Jr. contributed to this report.
Azia Branson: 817-390-7547, @aziabranson
Tips on scams
No government agency, local, state or federal will ever solicit payment over the phone.
- Pre-paid cash card pin numbers are the same as cash —once they are given out, they cannot be traced or recovered.
- Many criminals sound convincing. They look up information familiar to you in your area to gain credibility.
- Suspects may even “spoof” their phone numbers so that caller ID shows they are calling from a police department.
- When in doubt, hang up and call a local police department.
Source: Flower Mound police
This story was originally published February 21, 2016 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Suspect tried scam using name of Tarrant County deputy who died."