Jury-Duty Scam Logged In East Bay: Beware!

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA – After an area resident last week fell prey to a financial scam involving jury duty and reported the incident to law enforcement, the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office is warning members of the East Bay community to beware.

The typical scenario unfolds as the fraudsters place phone calls, in the recent case identifying themselves as a sheriff's office employee, and tell residents that warrants are issued for their arrests as they missed jury duty, the department said.

To "clear" the warrants, citizens are told to get prepaid cash cards at local stores, deputies said.

"The suspect attempts to make this appear legitimate by giving phony names or real names of employees, addresses of some of our offices, and fake case or warrant numbers," the sheriff's office said. "Don't fall for it."

Deputies added that the scam "is not new," as different variations cropped up in recent years -- sometimes involving the "IRS" or "unpaid parking tickets," and often targeting the elderly.

"THIS IS A SCAM," the office emphatically said today on a social media post. "The Office of the Sheriff does not have people pay fines or fees by through reloadable prepaid cards. Furthermore, the public is never contacted in this way."

Anyone receiving such calls should provide no personal information, hang up the phone, contact local law enforcement agency and notify them of the incident, the agency said.

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