In Kerrville, a town rocked by a scam mimicking law enforcement, the Kerrville Police Department is alerting the public to a duplicitous scheme. According to KENS 5, a scammer alleging to be Sergeant Jonathan Lamb of the KPD reached out to a local business, claiming that counterfeit currency had been passed and coercing them to buy a $500 gift card to fend off criminal charges.
The scammer's ruse instructed the business clerk to purchase the gift card from Walgreens, scratch off the code, and provide it to them. "A local business just reported a scam call from a criminal who pretended to be Sergeant Jonathan Lamb, a real member of our KPD team," Kerrville PD revealed in a Facebook post. "This criminal said that the business passed counterfeit bills. The scammer told a clerk to go to Walgreens and buy a $500.00 gift card, scratch the code and give it to them to avoid criminal charges." The police are on the case but caution that such tactics are classic hallmarks of fraud.
Moreover, Kerrville authorities are doubling down on warnings to residents about the spike in phone scams and fraud attempts pervading the city. Citing a report by KSAT, there have been numerous reports of various scams aiming to deceive unsuspecting citizens into parting with their money or personal information.
The Kerrville Police Department strongly advises that they, or any legitimate government agency, would never solicit money in the form of gift cards over the phone. If you're on the receiving end of a call demanding payment via gift card, the best course of action is to hang up immediately and report the incident to local authorities.
