Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess in his Franklin office.
Johnson County residents over the weekend were phoned by scammers who insisted they had a warrant and needed to pay up.
Several people reported the scam to Johnson County dispatch and to Sheriff Duane Burgess himself, he said. These types of scams pop up over and over, he said, whether it be for a warrant, owed taxes, a claim that a family member is in jail or another story made up to tug at the heartstrings.
Scammers often call any number they can get their hands on. Sometimes they even unwittingly call deputies on their personal cell phones, Burgess said.
Stemming from this scam carried out this weekend, the sheriff’s office received multiple calls from Johnson County residents who want to check and see if they had a warrant or if the sheriff’s office was looking for them because they had a warrant. The residents had received phone calls from someone posing as a deputy and telling them they had an active warrant. They were further told they needed to leave their home and go to the sheriff’s office and turn themselves in at the jail, Burgess said a statement on the scams.
One resident told a deputy that they were told they had a warrant for not showing up to jury duty, and that they needed to pay $1,000. At least one individual fell victim to the scam. They purchased a gift card and sent money through eCash, resulting in a loss of $450, Burgess said.
People who make these calls typically have well-orchestrated speeches that can convince people that they are telling the truth. Adding to the ruse, these scammers also have the ability to spoof telephone numbers so it appears to be actually coming from the agency the scammer claims to be from, Burgess said.
No one from the sheriff’s office nor from any of the county’s courts would call and ask for a bond, a fine, or any type of payment. The offices would also never ask someone to pay with eCash or a gift card, Burgess said.
Similar scams have also been reported by other agencies. For example, the U.S. District Court of Indiana issued a warning about jury duty scams in October.
“Typically, jurors who miss jury duty will be contacted by the clerk’s office and may, in certain circumstances, be ordered to appear in court before a judge. Any fine for failure to appear for jury duty will be imposed by a judge during an open session of court, and the summoned juror will be given the opportunity to explain the failure to appear before any fine would be imposed,” the statement says.
The scam does not work how it actually would work if someone has a warrant. The sheriff’s office would not accept a bond on a warrant without the subject of the warrant being arrested and booked into the county jail. Bonds are also paid in cash and in person physically at a sheriff’s office. A legitimate agency would never send a courier or meet at your house to pick up cash, and would not take any phone apps, gift cards, a money card, Bitcoin or cryptocurrency, Burgess said in the statement.
Law enforcement agencies would also never attempt to collect on civil matters. That is done through the court system, in person, he said.
Burgess says people should verify any unbelievable story given over the phone, no matter how real it may seem and no matter if the person says they are the police or another trusted person.
“If someone is calling, messaging or emailing you with a threat or heartfelt story of illness, car crashes or unfilled warrants, or that they are representing a family member who has been arrested in parts unknown, check with that family member directly,” the statement says. “The scammers will try and keep you on the phone while you purchase gift cards or withdraw money from a bank. They will tell you not to let the bank know why you are withdrawing money because they know the tellers are trained to recognize the scam and try to prevent you from giving away your money.”
For more information on scams visit consumer.ftc.gov/articles/phone-scams. For more information on identity theft visit idtheftcenter.org/.
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