ROCKINGHAM — For the second time within two weeks, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents of yet another scam attempt.
According to a post published late Monday, April 10 on the RCSO Facebook page, the caller or callers are claiming to be lieutenants with the agency and telling intended targets that they missed jury duty and will go to jail unless a $775 fine is paid.
“PLEASE…PLEASE…PLEASE, do not fall victim to these types of scams,” the post reads, adding that the calls seem to be targeting the senior citizen community.
The RCSO posted about similar jury duty scams in January and December.
The RCSO posted about another scam on March 30.
In that case, the number appeared to come from Richmond County, with the caller claiming to be an investigator and telling potential victims that they had outstanding warrants for arrest and would be jailed if money was not paid.
“Please do not fall victim to these nonsense type of scams,” the post concludes. “We will never call asking you to pay any amount of money or risk going to jail.”
Newsweek reported in 2022 that fake jury duty calls were one the top 10 most common telephone scams in the nation. The list also includes scammers purporting to be calling about family emergencies or debt collection, or from the bank, IRS, utilities or charities.
Would-be scammers will often use a method known as “spoofing,” where the telephone number they’re calling from appears on caller ID as being local.
Complaints can be filed with the N.C. Attorney General’s office by calling 1-877-5-NO-SCAM or visiting https://ncdoj.gov/file-a-complaint/.
