Constable Mark Herman's Office is urging Spring-area residents to watch for phishing emails and texts that mimic legitimate senders to steal personal information.
The warning, reported by KPRC's Click2Houston on Sunday, Oct. 4, comes as October marks Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The national campaign is now in its 23rd year, co-led by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cybersecurity Alliance. CISA's 2026 theme is "Securing the Next 250," a nod to the nation's upcoming 250th anniversary.
Herman's office, which covers Harris County Precinct 4 and serves the Spring area, said phishing scams trick people into handing over account credentials or downloading malicious software. The scams arrive as emails, text messages, links or attachments and are built to look like they come from a trusted source. One wrong click can compromise personal data, online accounts and devices, the office said.
The threat is not hypothetical. The FBI logged 191,561 phishing and spoofing complaints in 2024, more than any other cybercrime category, according to the bureau's annual Internet Crime Report.
Five steps the office recommends
The advisory listed five steps residents should follow:
- Verify that a message comes from a trusted sender.
- Be wary of unexpected messages that create a sense of urgency.
- Avoid entering passwords or personal information through unsolicited links.
- Examine links and attachments before opening them.
- When in doubt, contact the person or business directly using contact information you already know is legitimate.
The urgency tactic is one scammers lean on heavily, the office noted, because a message that pressures a reader to act fast leaves less time to spot red flags.
A pattern of scam alerts
The phishing warning is the latest in a string of alerts from Herman's office. In August, the Precinct 4 constable's verified government account posted on X warning residents about fraudulent texts impersonating the United States Postal Service. The office told residents not to click the link, not to reply and not to share personal details. In late July, the office also flagged a separate scheme in which fraudsters impersonated the constable's office itself and demanded payments by phone.
Herman's office, which describes itself as the largest constable's office in the United States, encouraged residents to make cybersecurity a daily habit: pause, verify and think before clicking. Cybersecurity Awareness Month runs through Oct. 31.
