The victim said he was so blinded by anxiety that he didn’t see the red flags. Now, he’s out $8,000.
HOUSTON — The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a man said he was scammed out of nearly $10,000.
HCSO investigators said criminals are impersonating deputies over the phone and telling unsuspecting people to cough up some serious cash for supposedly missing jury duty.
It’s a scam that anyone could fall for.
One man did fall for it, and he’s out $8,000.
He said he was told to go to a CVS parking lot off Richmond Avenue to drop off the money and avoid going to jail.
In hindsight, he said it seemed suspicious, but in the heat of the moment, it was hard for him to process everything.
The victim, who asked to be identified as James, said it was a phone call that he won’t ever forget. He said someone called and claimed to be with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. The caller told him that he had failed to appear for jury duty last week.
“I had to resolve it or I would end up spending 30 days in jail … be arrested. They would send somebody either to my home or to my place of work,” James said. “I need to make this go away as quickly and painlessly as possible.”
James said he never got a summons, but the person on the phone told him that he owed $8,000. They even provided a fake failure to appear citation number to make it seem even more real.
James said he was panicking.
The caller told him to get a surety bond for $8,000. They told him that an officer and a bail bondsman would meet him at the CVS parking lot to collect the payment.
James said the fake bail bondsman showed up without an officer, took the bond and drove away. He said he was left with a business card with a fake name associated with a real company — ASAP Bail Bonding.
He said he was so blinded by anxiety and panic that he didn’t see the red flags.
ASAP Bail Bonding owner Derrick Dixon said he’s never seen anything like it before.
“That’s extremely frustrating, totally caught us off guard. Because this individual has no prior history or any connection to my company at all,” he said about the name on the card.
HCSO said people need to be cautious. They said you should hang up immediately if you get a call like James got.
“Harris County Sheriff’s Office or any law enforcement will never ask for payment over the phone or via text,” HCSO Detective Luis Leal said.
James wants others to heed that warning, too.
“I hope no one else falls for this scam,” he said.
HCSO also advised people to never share personal or financial information with anyone over the phone.
If you get a call about missing jury duty, call the jury service office directly to verify if it’s real.
Also, you should report any scam calls.