Scam Alert: Phony Sheriff Call Making Rounds In Forsyth

CUMMING, GA — The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office is warning residents about a scam telephone call that's making the rounds.

A court system employee told the sheriff's office that a woman called them, saying she'd gotten a telephone call telling her she'd missed jury duty and had to pay a fine.

When the court official called the number she'd been given — 770-672-5995 — someone answered as the "sheriff's department" and identified himself as "Deputy Ted Jackson." (Ted Jackson, it happens, is the name of Fulton County's sheriff.)

When the court official said who was calling, the person hung up. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

In a Facebook post, the sheriff's office made it clear that it will never ask for money to take care of missing jury duty. Federal courts also have stated they'll never ask for money or personal information over the phone or email.

This appears to be a new version of a pretty common scam. Usually, the scammers will either ask for the victim's Social Security number, credit card information or other sensitive data or tell them they can pay off their fine with a prepaid debit or gift card.

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