Callers posing as Denton police and county deputies took $6,900 from two residents

Two Denton residents lost a combined $6,900 this week to phone callers who claimed to be law enforcement officers, according to reports filed with Denton police and described by the Denton Record-Chronicle.

A workplace call and a fake officer

In the first case, reported Thursday, a woman in the 100 block of West Hickory Street got a call at her job from a man who said he was "Officer Woodrow" with the Denton Police Department. He told her a bench warrant had been issued in her name and said she could settle the balance by phone.

She read him her debit card number and was charged $100.

Denton police said no one by that name works for the department.

Nine hours on the line

The second case, also reported Thursday, began Wednesday afternoon in the Singing Oaks and Bird Streets area. A caller who said he was with the sheriff's office told a woman she had several warrants for missing federal jury duty. She was told not to hang up and not to tell anyone what was happening.

The call stretched from about 1:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Over those hours she was handed off to several people who also claimed to work for the sheriff's office. They pressed her to send money in Bitcoin, kept adding new fees and asked for her Social Security number. She lost $6,800.

What the agencies say

Both the Denton Police Department and the Denton County Sheriff's Office say their staff will never ask for payment over the phone, and never in gift cards or cryptocurrency. Anyone who gets such a call should hang up and dial the agency directly using a number they look up themselves.

• Denton Police Department non-emergency line: 940-349-8181
• Denton County Sheriff's Office: 940-349-1600

Sources

Denton Record-Chronicle