DeKalb County officials are sounding the alarm about an aggressive phone scam that is spooking residents with fake threats of jail time over so-called missed jury duty.
According to the county, callers are impersonating the sheriff’s office, insisting their targets skipped jury service and now face immediate arrest unless they pay up on the spot. The scammers have allegedly pushed people to buy prepaid gift cards or hand over sensitive personal information, all under the pressure of an invented emergency. County leaders are telling residents to treat these calls as fraud and to double-check any supposed summons through official court channels.
Chief and Administrative Judge Shondeana C. Morris told CBS News Atlanta, “We want to make it absolutely clear: no court or judge will ever call you demanding payment or threatening arrest for missing jury duty.” The outlet reports that victims were pressured to purchase prepaid cards or turn over personal data in an attempt to clear bogus fines that never existed in the first place.
How the scam works
The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office says the scammers typically claim to be deputies or court officials and tell the person on the line that a warrant has been issued for failing to appear for jury duty. From there, the pitch gets predictable: the victim is instructed to pay with prepaid money cards or gift cards, or to provide bank account or Social Security details, supposedly to avoid arrest…