DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR
BURNET — A scam promising the caller $5 million and another one threatening possible jail time without prompt payment are making their rounds across the Highland Lakes.
On July 18, a Kingsland-area couple received a phone call about 9:30 a.m. from a person saying they had won $5 million and a Mercedes Benz. The husband, believing something such as this was too good to be true, informed the caller he had been a police officer for more than 30 years.
This revelation promptly ended the call.
However, about two hours later, the couple’s phone rang again. This time it was somebody claiming to be from Las Vegas and, believe it or not, the caller said the couple had won $5 million and a Mercedes Benz, the same prize offered in the earlier call. This time, the couple decided to hear a little more of the person’s pitch.
The woman said the caller told them all they had to do was pay the taxes on the winnings and outlined the method for making this payment. The couple didn’t fall for the scam, but, upon tracking the phone number via the Internet, they learned it was connected to a Fort Meyers, Fla., business. The Internet description included a warning that this business could be connected to a scam.
The couple wanted to get word out about the scam in hope others wouldn’t fall for it.
Another scam targeting area resident has a caller claiming to be from the Burnet County Attorney’s office. The caller demands payment for hot checks written in Burnet County or the person could go to jail.
Burnet County Attorney officials said the county doesn’t accept hot check payments over the phone. The typical procedure is the county attorney’s office sends out an orange postcard to the check writer’s last known address informing the person he or she has a check to resolve in the Burnet County Attorney’s office.
And the Burnet County Attorney’s office rarely calls check writers to demand payment.
If a resident gets such a call, officials said don’t immediately pay it. Instead, contact the Burnet County Attorney’s office at (512) 756-5476 to verify the issue and how to best make the payment.
People who believe they may have received a fraudulent call demanding payment for a hot check should call (512) 756-8080 and report it to the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office.
editor@thepicayune.com
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