Navasota Police Chief Justin Leeth says his office has recently received reports from some local residents who have apparently fallen victim to a telephone scam.
He says generally it’s the older Hispanic community that has loved ones out of the state, out of the area. The scam, Leeth, starts as an urgent phone call with personal information about the individual that makes the victims think the scammers have their loved ones in their possession and need money before they can release them.
And while Chief Leeth tells Navasota News this is not a new type of scam, it apparently is new to some folks in our neck of the woods.
They are told not to contact law enforcement, Chief goes on, because harm can befall their loved one. So they are instructed to send Moneygrams back to, in our case, Mexico.
Unfortunately, the Chief Leeth says, a lot of folks believe these crooks will know if they do contact law enforcement, and so they don’t. until it’s too late, that is.
In the day of the internet, the Chief reminds, there’s incredible amount of information about everybody out there.
So most important, he urges, is if you get one of these calls, call the police immediately, before you send any money. The 24-hour telephone number here in Navasota is 936-825-6410.