Houston County Citizens Scammed Out of $10,000 in One Week, Sheriff Says | WDHN

HOUSTON COUNTY, Ala. (WDHN) — Recently, the Houston County Sheriff’s Office has seen an increase in scams involving the department.

Sheriff Donald Valenza says the scams involve someone calling citizens and pretending to be from HCSO or the Dothan Police Department and using “scare tactics” to get them to pay for fake outstanding warrants.

The sheriff says the justice system doesn’t work that way in Houston County.

“We can knock on your door, or I can kick down your door, but we’re not going to call you and tell you we have a warrant for your arrest,” Sheriff Valenza said. “Don’t fall for that.”

HCSO Corporal Brandon Barnes says that over the past week, citizens in Houston County have been scammed out of approximately $10,000, with one victim losing $8,500 after being told she had missed jury duty and had to pay to avoid arrest.

According to Corporal Barnes, the male victim was on the phone with the scammer for over an hour and during that time he withdrew the $8,500 from his bank, converted it into cryptocurrency at a Dothan ATM and sent it to the unknown scammer.

“If you commit a crime in Houston County, you have a good chance of getting caught,” said Corporal Barnes. “We will use, with the support of Sheriff Valenza, every means and resource we have to find out who is behind these phone calls.”

Sheriff Valenza said his department will recommend the maximum sentence if and when the scammers are arrested.