ROANOKE CO., Va. \u2013 \u201cI was very nervous and anxious. I wasn\u2019t sure what to do, and I thought oh my goodness, I\u2019ve missed jury duty, you know, and I really thought I\u2019d be in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was how Deborah Welch described her encounter with a scam caller who told her that she had missed jury duty.<\/p>\n
Scammers have been telling people that they missed jury duty, and if they didn\u2019t do what they were told, there would be consequences.<\/p>\n
\u201cI explained to them that I\u2019ve never gotten a letter,\u201d Welch said. \u201cThey said, \u2018well you did get a letter, we have it on record, and we need you to come down to the courthouse immediately or you will be arrested.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Welch was ultimately able to avoid being scammed, Lt. Colonel Chad Beheler and the Roanoke County Sheriff\u2019s Office have been getting at least 50 to 70 calls a day about this type of scam since Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll get a phone call, and the suspect will say, you\u2019ve missed jury duty, you can either pay me or you\u2019ll be arrested,\u201d Beheler said.<\/p>\n
Scammers trick people by spoofing the Roanoke County Sheriff\u2019s Office number, then make threats of arrest.<\/p>\n
Beheler says that law enforcement will never tell you to make a payment if you miss jury duty.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll have somebody show up at your door, or you\u2019ll receive a letter in the mail,\u201d Beheler said. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to call you, we\u2019re not going to threaten you with, \u2018hey, if you don\u2019t pay me $500 or $7,000, we\u2019re going to come arrest you\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you get a call from someone you think is a scammer, Beheler says the best thing to do is just hang up the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you do happen to get a phone call, just relax and stay calm,\u201d Beheler said. \u201cDon\u2019t rush anything. Don\u2019t try to hurry up and answer questions. If you don\u2019t know who it is, hang up the phone.\u201d <\/p>\n
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