The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) wants to alert the public “about an ongoing scam involving the CCSO and court system,” a spokesperson says.
The CCSO has received over 20 calls in the past 72 hours from potential victims, according to the spokesperson. “Their stories all mirror that of previous victims. The caller orders them to pay a fine because of a missed jury summons and subsequent contempt of court fine. The suspect has identified himself at Sgt. Jackson and orders unsuspecting victims to go to Kroger to buy a Kroger card to pay their fine.”
It is possible to receive a call about a jury summons, says the CCSO, “But we will never demand payment or ask for personal financial information. The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office does not contact anyone by phone directing them to put money on an account to pay a bond or fine. A deputy will hand deliver a subpoena or any process. Any jury notices will come by mail.”
If anyone feels they have been a victim of this scam or have any information they should contact CCSO Investigative Unit at 912-652-7681.
This article appears in Jun 24-30, 2015.
Yeah, it’s likely a scam if someone calls you and ask for immediate payment over the phone, whoever they said they were. I have found so many reports online at blogs, news sites, consumer sites like http://whycall.me, or even at social media like Twitter and Facebook about these scammers, and almost all of them will ask for immediate payment over the phone using debit card or credit card. So I suggest you to just hung up if they start ask for some payment like I said above, and report them directly to police department or FTC.