King County Sheriff’s Office issues warning about jury duty scam calls

Published 4:05 pm Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Phone callers trying to get people to pay money for missed jury duty or owing back taxes are a scam.

The King County Sheriff’s Office sent out a media release on Tuesday that it does not solicit for funds over the phone under any circumstances.

If someone contacts you and tells you there is a warrant out for your arrest because you missed jury duty or that you owe back taxes, this is a scam.  Discontinue the call immediately.

The caller says that they are from the King County Sheriff’s Office, or from the courts of King County, stating that because you missed jury duty there is a warrant for your arrest. They will tell you to pay hundreds of dollars to avoid being arrested. They use high pressure tactics to get you panicked and are very professional sounding.

If they get you to agree to pay the money, they will tell you to purchase a cash card from a well known store. Once you purchase the card they will have you call them back with the special pin number on the back of the card. Within seconds the funds will be transferred to their account.

They will then tell you to go down to the King County Courthouse and sign up for jury duty and that King County will reimburse you with a cashier’s check for the amount you paid them.

The King County Sheriff’s Office or the courts will never call you for money on a warrant or tell you in advance they are coming to arrest you.

If you are a victim of this scam:

You may file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission at fcc.gov/complaints.