A phone call appears to come from the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office. The person on the other end sounds official, knows how to talk about warrants and law enforcement procedures, and says there is a serious problem that needs to be handled immediately.

For residents of Preserve at Medina River, the most important thing to know is also the simplest: the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office will not demand payment over the phone to clear a warrant, avoid arrest or settle a fine.

BCSO is warning the community about scam callers posing as law enforcement officers and using fear, urgency and increasingly convincing technology to persuade victims to hand over money. The agency says it does not accept payment by phone to avoid arrest and will never instruct someone to purchase gift cards or send cryptocurrency for that purpose. That warning is also currently posted on Bexar County’s official Sheriff’s Office website.

How the Bexar County Sheriff Phone Scam Works

The approach can vary, but the basic script is designed to make someone frightened enough to act before questioning what they have been told.

A scammer may introduce himself as a deputy or other law enforcement official and claim the person receiving the call has an active arrest warrant, owes money to a law enforcement agency or faces immediate arrest.

Then comes the demand.

Victims may be instructed to withdraw a specific amount of cash and take it to a Bitcoin Teller Machine, commonly called a Bitcoin ATM or BTM. Other versions of the scam can involve gift cards, cryptocurrency or wire transfers.

Scammers may even claim that making the payment is only the first step and that a “second process” will follow afterward.

The reality, BCSO warns, is that once cryptocurrency is transferred to the scammer, recovering the money can be extremely difficult or impossible.

Even Caller ID May Say Bexar County Sheriff’s Office

One detail makes these impersonation scams particularly deceptive: residents cannot necessarily trust what appears on their Caller ID.

BCSO has warned that scammers can “spoof” the Sheriff’s Office non-emergency number, 210-335-6000, causing that legitimate number to appear on the recipient’s phone even though the call did not originate with the agency.

Other scammers may provide entirely different telephone numbers while claiming those are official BCSO lines. Those numbers can lead to professional-sounding automated answering systems and fake extensions created to make the operation seem legitimate.

For Preserve at Medina River families, that means seeing a recognizable Bexar County phone number is not, by itself, enough to verify who is actually calling.

One Bexar County Resident Lost $9,320

The warning is not based on a hypothetical scenario.

In a February 15, 2025 public warning, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office described the case of a local resident who received a call from a man claiming to represent BCSO.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, the caller falsely told the woman she had felony warrants for her arrest and said she would need to pay $9,320 to avoid being arrested.

Frightened by the claim, the victim went to her bank, withdrew the requested money and made several deposits at area Bitcoin ATMs.

BCSO said the woman later told deputies she suspected during the process that the call might be a scam but continued making the deposits anyway.

The case highlights one of the tactics that makes warrant scams effective: creating enough fear and urgency that a person keeps following instructions even when something does not feel right.

What BCSO Says Residents Should Do Instead

Residents who receive a suspicious call should end the conversation rather than attempting to verify the caller while still on the line.

BCSO recommends hanging up, waiting a moment and then manually dialing 210-335-6000. Residents can ask the dispatcher whether a deputy was actually attempting to contact them.

That distinction matters. Calling a number supplied by the suspicious caller — or simply trusting a number displayed on Caller ID — could reconnect the resident with the scammers.

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office lists 210-335-6000 as its Dispatch Office number for non-emergencies.

The agency’s message is clear: law enforcement will not accept payment over the phone so someone can avoid arrest. BCSO has also said an arrest warrant is not resolved by sending money through a Bitcoin machine or making another payment to a caller.

Already Sent Money? Report the Scam

Anyone who believes they recently became the victim of this type of fraud and has not yet reported it can contact BCSO Dispatch at 210-335-6000.

Residents are also being encouraged to talk about the warning with family members, friends and neighbors. That conversation can be particularly valuable for anyone who might be caught off guard by a threatening call that appears to come from a legitimate law enforcement number.

BCSO also offers free fraud and scam presentations for community groups. Those interested in arranging a presentation can email seniors@bexar.org or sheriffpio@bexar.org.

For residents of Preserve at Medina River, the practical takeaway is worth remembering before the phone ever rings: an unexpected caller claiming there is a warrant may sound authoritative, know law enforcement terminology and even appear to be calling from BCSO’s real number. None of those things changes the rule.

If someone claiming to be law enforcement demands money by phone to keep a person from being arrested, hang up and independently contact the agency.

A few minutes spent verifying the call could prevent thousands of dollars from disappearing.

Stay tuned to My Neighborhood News for additional Bexar County public safety alerts, scam warnings and information that can help residents protect themselves and their neighbors.

By Tiffany Krenek, My Neighborhood News 

Tiffany Krenek has been on the My Neighborhood News team since August 2021. She is passionate about curating and sharing content that enriches the lives of our readers in a personal, meaningful way. A loving mother and wife, Tiffany and her family live in the West Houston/Cypress region.