MEDINA COUNTY, Texas — Thieves behind the telephone. Medina County Sheriff Randy Brown said a phone scam is stealing thousands of dollars from people.

In the last few weeks, he said they've received a couple dozen complaints. Brown said the scammers called him, claiming he needed to pay up.

"I actually received one of the calls myself claiming that I had failed to show up to a federal grand jury summons," Brown said. "When I finally told him, 'I know this chief deputy,' he said, 'Personally?' I said, 'Yes, he works for me.' I told him to Google Randy Brown, Medina County, you'll see I'm the sheriff. Then click, they hang up."

He said the scammers are using the names of real deputies and spoofing local phone numbers to make the calls appear legitimate. Some victims were told to stay on t

See Full Page