Sheriff's Office alerts public to 'jury duty' phone scam

A typical Green Dot money card. (Courtesy image)

A scammer or scammers posing as a York County Sheriff's Deputy are seeking to extort money from York County residents by saying they missed jury duty and face arrest.

The phony "deputy" says that a judge issued a summons for "Failure to Appear" and "Contempt of Court." The caller explains that they will need to go to the courthouse next week to clear it up but in the meantime they need to go to the Sheriff's Office and place a surety bond and sign an affidavit that they did not miss jury duty.

Lastly, the caller tells the unsuspecting community member to purchase a "Green Dot" money card. The targeted victim is told to call back once the Green Dot Money Card is purchased. The call back number is 207-200-0811 x 31.

According to a press release from York County Sheriff Bill King, "We suspect that when the citizen calls back, the scammer will ask for the 14 digit identification code on the back of the Green Dot money Card. Once that code is given, the scammer can deplete the card without even having it in their possession."

The victims of the calls report the scammer is very pushy and aggressive and threatens them with arrest if they do not comply.

The YCSO press release noted that the department has received reports from numerous York County residents but suspect there may be more. When investigators called 207-200-0811, somebody answered "Sheriff's Office" but quickly disconnected when questioned about their identity.

The YCSO is urging to citizens reort all such calls immediately to law enforcement and note that no law enforcement agency will ever ask a community member to purchase a "Green Dot" Money Card to satisfy any debt.