The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office warns the public about
a scam in which a caller claims that the court has placed a warrant on you for
missed jury duty.
The Sheriff’s Office learned of the scam from a phone call by
a local citizen who reported receiving a phone call from a scammer making a
claim that there was a warrant on her.
In the scam, the phone caller claims that to lift the warrant
you need to pay a fine. The method that the caller suggests, or demands, is to
buy a pre-paid credit card then call back with the card’s account number.
This is a method that has several variations. The key is that
a caller claims that you are in trouble with a government entity and that you
need to pay the fine in a way that is not standard with most government
entities operate. Pre-paid credit cards should turn on a red light in your mind.
The caller might claim to be from the IRS, a local city parking violations
department, or other entity that levies fines. Some federal district courts
have reported this scam, http://news.uscourts.gov/juror-scams-reported-3-us-court-districts.
Also, this scam has also been going around in Kitsap and Thurston counties.
Local governments will not call you to recover fines or fees.
The Sheriff’s Office recommends that if you receive a call from a scammer that
you take down as much information as you can and then call 911.
Also, you can check to see if a local court has a warrant on
you by going to one of the following links:
Snohomish County District Court- http://www.snoco.org/outstandingwarrants/
Snohomish County Superior Court- http://www.snoco.org/app/scl/felony/
Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office:
The Herald:
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