SCIOTO COUNTY, Ohio — The Scioto County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about a phone scam in which callers pose as law enforcement officers, U.S. marshals or court officials and threaten arrest over supposedly missed jury duty, according to a post from the office.
The sheriff’s office said it has received multiple reports of the scheme, in which callers tell victims they failed to respond to a jury subpoena or missed a court date and that an arrest warrant has been issued against them. The caller then offers to make the warrant go away in exchange for an immediate payment, the office said.
Scammers frequently tell victims they are under a “gag order” and cannot discuss the call with family, friends or law enforcement, a tactic the sheriff’s office said is meant to isolate victims and keep them from verifying the claim. Callers then instruct victims to pay through apps such as Venmo, Cash App or Zelle, or through gift cards, wire transfers or cryptocurrency, according to the post.
The sheriff’s office said none of that is how real warrants work. Neither the Scioto County Common Pleas Court nor the sheriff’s office will call, text or email demanding immediate payment to clear a warrant or fine, the office said, and actual warrants are served in person, not settled over the phone or through a money transfer app. No government agency accepts payment in gift cards or cryptocurrency, and no law enforcement agency issues a verbal “gag order” forbidding someone from contacting authorities to verify a call, the sheriff’s office said.
Residents who receive one of the calls should hang up immediately and avoid sharing personal or financial information, including Social Security numbers or bank details, the office said. Anyone concerned about a jury summons or an alleged warrant should hang up and call the Scioto County Clerk of Courts directly at 740-355-8218 with the case number in hand, rather than call back a number provided by the caller. The sheriff’s office is asking residents to report fraudulent calls to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or to local law enforcement, and to pass the warning along to family members, particularly elderly relatives who are frequently targeted.
The jury duty scam is not unique to Scioto County. The FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service have separately warned the public nationally about the scheme, in which callers claim a target missed jury duty or a court date and demand payment through prepaid debit cards or similar means to avoid arrest. The Justice Department’s Elder Justice Hotline, 1-833-372-8311, is available to help older adults who believe they have been targeted by fraud.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Scioto County Sheriff’s Office.
