VERO BEACH – The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office reported that several residents are receiving calls in areas of Sebastian and Vero Beach and being told they have missed jury duty and will be arrested if they do not pay a fine.
The callers can pose as detectives with a local law enforcement agency or as agents with a federal agency.
Regardless, if you are being threatened with arrest if you do not immediately make a payment, IT IS ALWAYS A SCAM!
The scammers use a process known as spoofing, which allows them to manipulate your Caller ID and make the call appear as if it is coming from a local number or a legitimate government agency.
The “jury duty” call is one of many types of scams where the caller threatens to arrest you if a fine is not paid.
The scammer pretends to be someone who can arrest you because you missed jury duty.
The caller usually demands payment in the form of prepaid credit cards, ITunes cards, or some similar manner.
Related: Scammers Target Vero Beach To Retrieve Money For Judy Duty
More: Fellsmere Police Warn Residents Against ‘Fundraiser’ Scam
You will then be instructed to provide the caller with the numbers on the cards. At that point, your money is gone.
These forms of payment, along with certain types of wire and bank transfers, are often untraceable as they use fictitious accounts and identities.
For more information on how to identify this and similar scams and for the latest on consumer protection tips, visit the website of the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov.
