Sampson County Sheriff Jimmy Thornton and Clerk of Court Chris Fann have issued a warning to Sampson County residents regarding a jury duty phone scam.
Individuals posing as Sampson County deputy sheriffs are calling citizens telling them a warrant or criminal paper has been issued against them after they failed to appear for jury duty. The callers claim they have a limited time to pay a fine to avoid arrest.
Under no circumstances will a citizen receive a phone call from a deputy regarding failure to appear for jury duty, nor will a deputy make arrangements for someone to pay a fine over the telephone. In the event a citizen legitimately fails to appear for jury duty, a deputy sheriff will make contact in person with a court order.
“Individuals who receive a call of this nature should simply hang up,” according to Sheriff Thornton. “Unfortunately a vast majority of these calls originate from overseas using local numbers and are outside the jurisdiction of United State law enforcement agencies.”
“Remember, no legitimate government agency is going to call you and ask you to wire money or make an online payment to avoid arrest.”
