Scam Alert About Being Arrested for Missing Jury Duty
The Moore County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about a phone scam in which callers pretend to be law enforcement officers demanding money.
The Sheriff’s Office has received reports of calls from people who say they were contacted by a deputy. The caller insists money is needed to clear up warrants, get someone off the hook for missing jury duty or other court and sheriff’s office business. Victims are told money must be loaded on some sort of prepaid card and the number sent to them to clear the issue.
Sheriff Neil Godfrey stated “These calls are not coming from the Moore County Sheriff’s Office or any valid agency. These are all scams trying to get money from people. The sheriff’s office will never call you demanding money for any reason.”
The sheriff’s office has a list of reminders for people wondering if a call amounts to a scam.
Neither the IRS, nor any law enforcement agency including the Moore County Sheriff’s Office, will ever call demanding money in lieu of being arrested.
Residents are reminded to never give personal information, including date of birth or account information, to anyone you do not know or are not expecting a call from.
Do not wire money, send pay cards of any type to anyone you do not know. No legitimate agency or business will have you make a payment this way.
If you are in doubt at all whether this is a scam or not, find contact information for the company or agency calling you, not the one provided by the person demanding money or payment. One way to do this is to ask for the caller’s agency or company name, find a number for customer service independently, and call to make sure the request was legitimate.
Please do not send any money or give anyone any personal information, account information or credit card numbers at any time without thoroughly verifying the identity of the caller.
