Edinburg News, Edinburg TX News, public safety
Staff Report
Edinburg, TX - Hidalgo County officials are warning residents about a rise in social media scams involving motor vehicle title transfers and registration renewals.
According to county officials, consumers have reported attempting to process vehicle title transactions or registration renewals through individuals advertising services on social media platforms, including Facebook Marketplace. In several cases, victims said they provided personal information by text message and were instructed to pay fees that were later found to be fraudulent.
Scam details
Officials said scammers typically provide a phone number through social media listings and request information by text. The individuals then send a code and direct consumers to pay excessive and phony fees at local retail stores.
Victims are later instructed to report to a county tax office and proceed to a specific service window where their paperwork is allegedly ready. Upon arrival, consumers discover that no transaction has been processed and no paperwork exists. The phone numbers used by the scammers then stop responding.
Official guidance
Hidalgo County Tax Assessor-Collector Pablo Villarreal Jr. cautioned residents to be alert.
“If it seems too good to be true, it’s probably a scam,” Villarreal said. “Titles are required to be turned over to the County Tax Office before a transfer can be done. Businesses must be a Full Service Deputy, Limited Service Deputy, or licensed title service in order to process motor vehicle transactions in Hidalgo County.”
Reporting scams
Villarreal urged residents who encounter these scams to report them to local law enforcement agencies, including police departments, the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office Auto Theft Task Force, the Hidalgo County Tax Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
He also encouraged residents to mark suspicious social media listings as scams on Facebook and report them to consumer reporting agencies.
Source -- Hidalgo County.