A Denton woman reported Thursday that she lost $1,500 to scammers impersonating Denton County deputies in a common jury duty fraud scheme.
At about 9:56 a.m., a woman filed a fraud report with the Denton Police Department online. She told officers that she received a call on Wednesday from a person claiming to be with the Denton County Sheriff’s Office.
When she returned the call, the caller told her she had been summoned to jury duty last month but failed to show up.
The impersonator told her she owed fines for failure to appear and contempt of court and directed her to deposit $2,100 at a bitcoin kiosk.
She went to a kiosk at a store in the 1900 block of Fort Worth Drive and deposited the funds. The person then called her again and told her she needed to deposit another $1,500, and she did so.
After depositing the funds, she called her bank. She reported that the bank representatives informed her it was a scam.
Her bank was able to block the $2,100 transaction, but the $1,500 went through.
She told officers she would like to press charges if they can locate a suspect.
The Denton County Sheriff’s Office will never call residents to ask them for immediate payment to avoid being arrested.
Denton County advises residents who receive calls from someone demanding payment to hang up and contact the county at 940–349-2230 to verify the validity of the call.
Roundup
From 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. Thursday, the Denton Police Department handled 404 service and officer-initiated calls and made eight arrests.
BROOKE COLOMBO can be reached at 940-566-6882 and bcolombo@dentonrc.com.
