Sheriff Armando Fontoura today issued an alert to Essex County residents that a long running telephone scam seeking payment for false warrants and overdue payments to the IRS has taken a new twist.
This new twist involves a threat of arrest for not appearing for Jury Duty as summonsed.
The scam involves a caller stating he or she is with the Sheriff's Office and utilizes technology that falsely impacts the potential victim’s caller ID to show that the call is in fact legitimate, Sheriff Fontoura noted.
According to authorities, the caller says that a warrant has been issued for the victim’s arrest but the warrant may be resolved either ‘criminally’ or ‘civillly’ by paying a fine which would negate an arrest.
The scam artist then follows with instructions for the victim to use a pre-paid debit card from a major bank. The scammer then provides a call back phone number where payment can be paid.
“Scam artists are extremely creative and inventive,” warned Sheriff Fontoura. We can not stress enough that legitimate law enforcement agencies do not ask for money card information to avoid arrest,” Sheriff Fontorua cautioned.
People who receive these phone calls should never provide any personal identification, such as a date of birth, social security number or bank card information over the telephone to people you don’t know.
Police ask that if you do receive such a call, gather as much information as you can ( ex. name, phone number) and report them to their local police department.