CLAYTON – An elderly Johnston County resident lost thousands of dollars in a jury duty scam.
The woman told authorities she received a phone call from a person claiming she had recently missed jury duty. The fraudster tricked the victim into thinking that unless she paid a fine immediately she would be arrested.
Fearing she would go to jail, the 75 year-old woman did as she was told. She obtained $28,900 and sent the money to the scammer through a Bitcoin account.
The incident remains under investigation.
A traffic ticket or even a misdemeanor criminal offense would cost 28k! Why would someone think missing civic duty would result in a penalty without being first heard on the matter? They may it so easy for the scammers. People please pay attention to your aging family and at least have this conversation with them.
If you loose money on a Bitcoin scam, you deserve what you get.
That is one more rotten thing to say. Wow, you have no idea how this might affect how she lives out the rest of her life with her finances. You have blown me away with your comment. The sad thing is sometimes you actually say some smart things!
@Steve: It’s obvious this lady does not have the mental acuity to be trusted with her own finances. She should become a ward of the state.
*ANYONE* who thinks a legitimate agency or business would *EVER* require payment in Bitcoin is too immature to be allowed to have money or manage finances.
No one deserves to be scammed..no one.
I got a phone call from these people this afternoon .. they use the names of real officers and the phone numbers of the sheriff department and sound so knowledgeable and real. I am 64 an was believing it for a while. Getting someone older who gets confused with the “officers” threatening immediate jail time can be scary. We all need to be attentive to our older parents and loved ones and not be so critical.