The capitol Steps - Rep. Ken Paxton
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has recently released a statement to warn the public about scams using the Departments name. Scammers have been calling Texans in various parts of the State demanding that residents immediately pay for overdue red-light tickets.
The most recent incident was reported in Cleveland Texas where police say that residents have received calls from someone claiming to represent DPS and demanding payment on a red-light safety camera ticket. The scammers say that an arrest warrant will be issued if the person receiving the call does not provide a credit card number as well as a Social Security number and other personal information.
The Texas Department of Public Safety does not collect traffic fines or oversee red-light cameras. The Director of DPS Steven McCraw cautions that individuals should never give out personal information over the phone when someone else initiated the call. He advises that individuals who receive a call like this should write down any contact information from the Caller ID if available and then contact local law enforcement.
DPS also reminds Texans that the department does not call requesting charitable donations. The Department of Public Safety is funded by tax dollars and never calls citizens or businesses to solicit financial contributions.
DPS advises citizens not to give money to these groups as the funds may not go to the causes that are claimed. Some groups include in their names the terms Texas Rangers" State Troopers" Texas Highway Patrol" or Department of Public Safety."
While some current or former employees may be members of some of these associations on their own time these organizations are not affiliated with the DPS nor do they represent the Department. Many of these organizations provide only a small percent of their donations for good causes with the majority of the donations going to administrative and operational purposes.
Some of these organizations offer to provide official looking decals resembling official DPS affiliation in exchange for donations and claim that when placed on personal vehicles these decals may somehow keep the individual from receiving a traffic citation from law enforcement which is untrue. There is also a lack of public accountability and transparency by many of these organizations.
If you are contacted by a group you believe is misrepresenting itself as part of the Texas Department of Public Safety contact the Consumer Protection Division of the Texas Attorney Generals Office at 1-800-621-0508.
