As the spokesperson of the Lea County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Vivian Martinez was concerned scammers would start using her name to get money from potential victims who feared being arrested.
Her angst came days after the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office warned people an individual was calling local residents claiming to be from the Sheriff’s Office and demanding pre-paid gift cards to cancel out warrants.
Martinez said such scams were reported nearly a year ago in neighboring Lea County.
“We were concerned the scammers would start using my name. I’m on the radio a lot. People know I’m the public information officer for the Sheriff and we were concerned people would give that validity in their minds that it was a valid call,” she said.