Houston woman swindled out of $12K in fake jury scam speaks out as a warning to others

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- We all think we are smart enough not to get swindled, but are we? A Houston mother of two was working at her downtown Houston job when she received a call that sent her through a three-hour ordeal that ended with her losing thousands of dollars.

"Humiliated," said the woman, who wanted to share her story as a warning to others. "I want to tell people what happened because I want to keep this from happening to anyone ever again."

On Monday afternoon, the woman got a call saying she missed a jury summons and had a warrant out for her arrest. The man on the other end of the phone identified himself as a Harris County Sheriff's deputy and said that she could take care of her active warrants by paying a bond and following his directions.

"I consider myself really street smart, and this man sounded like law enforcement," the woman, who is a college graduate and an executive at a multinational company, said. "He was extremely scripted, buttoned up. The way he asked if I had something to write things down, I absolutely believed him."

The caller had spoofed his phone number to make it look like the calls were coming from the Harris County Sheriff's Department. When the woman questioned his authenticity, he called back from the "non-emergency" number. Authorities now believe he spoofed the phone numbers, so they appeared on screen to be from law enforcement.

Once in her car, the woman was convinced to withdraw money from the bank and then somehow agreed to meet up with a supposed bail bondsman at a parking garage on the 2400 block of Polk Street, about a mile from the sheriff's department.

Surveillance video shows the woman pulling into a parking garage. Seconds later, a man dressed in a black shirt and pants, wearing sunglasses and carrying a clipboard, is seen walking to her car. He was the supposed "bondsman."

"I was shaking and crying," she recalled. "Both the gentleman on the phone and at the window said, 'Calm down, stop crying. We're going to get this figured out quickly.' The man asked me to put the cash on a clipboard that he had. I did. He then walked away. He told me he was going to count the amount."

The woman handed over $12,000.

The Houston Police Department said these criminals are well-rehearsed and catch people when they're vulnerable.

"They go off a script. They're a salesman," HPD Sgt. Jeremy Lahar said. "Their whole goal is to keep you on the phone and try to get as much info from you and get to those funds in your account."

On the phone, the fake sheriff's deputy then told the woman they needed more bond money for a separate federal bond. He also told the woman not to accept her husband's phone calls because he could be held liable for interfering with an investigation. She then drove to a third bank. At that point, she was so distraught that the teller noticed, and after communicating via written notes, the teller told her she was being scammed.

"It went against every better judgment, went against what I know, and it still happened," the woman, who has since turned over everything to Houston police, said.

"Whether you have a Ph.D. or a high school diploma, we can all fall victim to individuals trying to take advantage of us," Sgt. Lahar said.

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