Phone Scam Calls Continue to be Reported to the Travis County District Attorney’s Office
Travis County, TX — The Travis County District Attorney’s Office wants residents to be aware of a phone scam in which individuals continue to pose as representatives from the Office.
On Monday, May 20, 2024, our office received a complaint from a resident who reported receiving a phone call from someone pretending to be a TCDA staff member and falsely claiming that they needed to pay a fine. In this case, the scammer used the correct name of a TCDA staff member and made it appear as though he was calling from the TCDA office by using a spoofing app that showed the TCDA main number on the victim’s caller ID. The victim paid the scammer an unspecified amount to a Bitcoin account using a Bitcoin ATM in Austin.
Last Thursday, May 16, 2024, our office received a complaint from a resident who received a call from a scammer using similar tactics. The scammer impersonated one of our staff members and used a spoofing app to display our TCDA main number on the resident’s caller ID. In this incident, the scammer falsely accused the resident of committing a crime and threatened them with legal action if they did not attend a false pretrial hearing. Fortunately, in this case, the resident did not share any of their personal or financial information.
Last month, our office alerted residents about two other incidents where the scammers used a spoofing app to threaten the victims with legal action if money was not paid immediately. In one case, the victim paid the scammer $1,200 to a Bitcoin account.
What residents need to know:
1. The TCDA office never calls residents to ask for credit/debit card numbers, wire transfers, or bank routing numbers or to seek payment over the phone.
2. Our office will never demand immediate payment in person with cash, gift card, or Bitcoin.
3. If a Travis County resident receives a phone call threatening arrest, demanding immediate payment, or requesting credit card or bank account information, hang up and report the incident immediately to your local law enforcement agency.
4. In addition to making a report with your local law enforcement agency, they should make an online report with the Federal Trade Commission at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/
5. Anyone who has received a similar call may contact the Travis County District Attorney’s Office at 512-854-9400 and ask to speak with an investigator to authenticate the received call.
###