Earlier this week, the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) posted a warning on its Facebook page that it will never call citizens to tell them that they have a warrant issued against them. It notes a recent increase of reports to it about citizens receiving phone calls from jury duty scammers.
While the
characteristics of this long-used scam remain essentially the same, there is
one twist in recent calls. According to KCSO once the scammer has your money,
usually with a cash card or gift card, the scammer tells you to go to the King
County Courthouse and sign up for Jury Duty. They then claim that King County
will reimburse you for the amount that you gave to the scammer. Of course, this
is not true, King County will not reimburse you for payment of this fake fine.
KCSO, also
notes that The Washington State Patrol (WSP) is investigating the Jury Scam in conjunction
with KCSO and the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. If you have been
victimized by a jury scammer, you can report the incident to WSP at: jurydutyscam@wsp.wa.gov or (425)
401-7741. Also, please report the incident to your local police department.
While this
activity is being reported in King County, scammers can easily move their
operations to Snohomish County. With a statewide agency such as the Washington State
Patrol involved in investigating the Jury Scam, there may be more opportunity
to bring the scammers to justice.
King County Sheriff’s Office:
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=570064548651322&set=a.150629573928157
https://kingcounty.gov/depts/sheriff/news-media/scam-alert.aspx
No comments:
Post a Comment