FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. — So many people got a call about missing jury duty this week, a Triad law enforcement agency had to put out a scam alert on its social media pages. Here’s the rundown:
You get a call and the person on the other end says you got a jury duty summons in the mail, but you never showed up and now you're in trouble. Law enforcement is ready to take you to jail unless you pay the fine right now. This is a scam. It makes the rounds. It may sound official, but it’s not. Take it from the ones who know.
“The scammers will say you missed jury duty and we're going to come to pick you up if you don't pay all this money at once. They're after that convenience, they want you to get that gift card or pay with Paypal or Venmo or whatever they can, to convince you this is going to go away very quickly if you pay,” said Sgt. PL Stringer of the Forsyth County Sheriff’s office.
The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office posted a scam alert on Facebook. In the post, it confirms no law enforcement agency is going to contact you out of the blue and demand payment over the phone. It's not how life really works.
The government takes payment by check and credit card. There is no wiring of money from Western Union, Moneygram, or using gift cards.
And don't miss this, the scammer may tell you to pay using CashApp, Paypal, Zelle, or Venmo. Once you pay using one of those P2P apps, your money is gone. These P2P apps don't work like the bank, they don't refund your money, so don't think you're protected.
“The scammers are very smart and they know what's traceable and what's not so it's up to us to figure it out and not fall victim to these crimes,” said Stringer.
If you get one of these scam calls, hang up and call your local law enforcement agency to report it.
If you're worried that the call could be for real in any way, hang up and call your law enforcement agency.