A Festus-area man recently was scammed out of $800 when someone claiming to be a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputy called the victim and demanded he pay a fine for failing to appear for jury duty, authorities report.
At about 5 p.m. Sept. 10, the scammer called the victim and told him he owed $800 because the Sheriff’s Office wanted him “on an outstanding bench warrant” for failure to appear for jury duty. Then, the scammer gave the man an account number and demanded that he immediately go wire money to the account, which the victim did, using a debit card, the Sheriff’s Office reported
The victim said it appeared that two scammers worked together during the call because he was “transferred” from one deputy to another and was asked to stay on the line with one of them while the money was being transferred, said Capt. Ron Arnhart of the Sheriff’s Office.
After the victim transferred the money, he was told to report to the Sheriff’s Office.
Once the victim went to the Sheriff's Office, deputies there informed the man that he was not wanted on a warrant and that he had been scammed, Arnhart said.
The Sheriff’s Office took a report about the scam, and the victim contacted the fraud division at the company that issued his debit card, the report said.
However, it’s unlikely the man will recover the $800, Arnhart said.
As of Sept. 18, there were no suspects or arrests in the case, he said
Arnhart said a similar type of scam was reported earlier this summer in Jefferson County.
The scam has happened in other parts of the country, too, he added.
Arnhart said it’s hard to catch those kind of scammers because they use prepaid “throw-away” cell phones that are difficult to trace.
Also, Arnhart said, the scammers often are from out of state or even out of the country, and the accounts they set up for money to be sent to are hard to trace.
Arnhart warns people to avoid sending money to people who call and demand immediate payment.
“Don’t be in such a hurry,” he said. “If someone calls and demands immediate payment over the phone, that’s a big red flag.”
Arnhart said the Sheriff’s Office will never call residents to tell them they’re wanted and demand immediate payment.
Jefferson County Circuit Clerk Mike Reuter also recently warned residents to be wary of calls from people claiming to be deputies and asking for payment of fines for not appearing for jury duty.
He said several local residents recently got those kinds of calls.
Reuter, too, said that authorities never will call residents about fines for not appearing for jury duty.
“The Circuit Clerk’s Office sends correspondence through the U.S. Postal Service to residents to inform them of any kind of notice and does not call residents with notices,” he said.
Reuter asks anyone who has received a call from someone asking for payment over the phone for fines related to not appearing for jury duty to call the Sheriff’s Office at 636-797-5515 or the Missouri Attorney General’s office at 800-392-8222 to file a report.