A New Scam Could be Hitting Your Email Inbox Soon
A new type of scam is worrying some residents across the South Plains. The Lubbock Police Department took to Twitter after receiving reports of suspicious emails being sent to many Lubbock residents regarding traffic violations. The tweet shows a screen shot from an email stating to be in connection to a traffic code violation in Lubbock on August 1st. The photo also shows two hyperlinks in blue that will allow you to pay the supposed traffic violation or contest the violation. It is suggested not to click anything in the email.
This email scam is the newest scam to hit the Hub City a week after some reports were made last week to the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office regarding calls from people claiming to be deputies with Lubbock law enforcement. The callers for this scam will address residents by name, in an attempt to sound official and convincing, then tell individuals that they have an arrest warrant. The scammers will then reassure the residents that the warrant can be paid off and should be immediately paid off over the phone so the scammers can get bank, credit card, or even gift card information.
These scams are just one of many scams across the South Plains this summer. One of the oldest scams out there is the Grandparent Scam, where scammers will target older or elderly people and pretend to be a family member in dire need of money. In my personal experience the scammer could be a fake relative from Mexico being detained at an airport for carrying too many items, or gifts, on their person and needs the money to pay for the fees to bring those items over. Scams are not just hitting Lubbock but other counties close by, KAMC news reported that officials in Curry County are seeing these scams.
Law enforcement officials advise citizens to not give any personal information over the phone to anyone they don't know or are not familiar with. The Lubbock County Sheriff's Office wants all citizens to know that no law enforcement agency will ever notify a person by phone of a warrant and will never request payments to pay off tickets or a warrant over the phone or online. Any citizens that have doubts about a call, email, or any other form of contact they receive from law enforcement regarding a warrant is urged to call the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency number at 806-775-1600.