Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman warns of scammer posing as him, demanding money

HOUSTON - Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman is alerting the community about a scammer who is calling residents, posing as him, and telling them to pay him a fine.

The constable called a press conference Thursday after several citizens reported getting calls from scammers posing as him. 

He says one elderly woman was nearly scammed out of $1,400. Apparently, the scammer used a phony caller ID template, so the constable’s name came up on the woman’s cell phone. 

The scammer told the woman she’d committed a violation and needed to pay a fine. She went to the bank, but the teller became suspicious and alerted authorities, shutting down the scam.

“I’m sure after today they’ll probably quit using my name and start using someone else’s, but we want the community to know that this is not legitimate,” said Herman. “If you’re ever in doubt, call the police and let us look into it. If it’s a scam we’re gonna just tell you.”

The constable also says beware of Facebook scams. Someone recently created a fake Facebook profile, posing as him and solicited false charity donations. That page has since been shut down.