Latest Scam: Missing Jury Duty

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department is warning residents of this region about the latest scam. The department says scammers are calling people and identifying themselves to be a law enforcement officer and claiming that the intended victim missed jury duty and must pay them a fine or be taken to jail. The Sheriff's Department says the scammer "spoofs" a local phone number so that it will show up on your caller ID or cell phone as a local 409 number. Another scam that the department says they've been seeing lately is actually an old one that's cropping up again. In that scam the scammer calls someone and claims that a family member is in legal trouble or some sort of emergency and they need the intended victim to send them money. Law enforcement says if you receive one of these calls, hang up and do not give the caller any information. If you want to know if you actually missed jury duty, call the District Clerk's Office yourself. If you fear that a family member may actually be in trouble or experiencing an emergency, call that person directly or other family members to confirm whether it's true.