Recently our Office received a call from a concerned citizen who was the victim of the latest version of the ongoing jury duty scams. A man who identified himself as Sergeant Raven contacted her, claiming she had warrants out for her arrest for failing to attend jury duty in Pasco County. The suspect then informed the woman she needed to go to Winn-Dixie and use a kiosk to pay for her dismissal ticket and bring it to our Office on Citizens Drive in New Port Richey, so the warrant could be cancelled. The victim thought that seemed a bit suspicious, so she called our Office as well as law enforcement. That was a good move.
Pasco Clerk Nikki Alvarez-Sowles explains, another red flag is getting a phone call from someone claiming to work in her Office regarding missed jury duty, “Here is what I want the public to know, that will never happen,” said Alvarez-Sowles. “If someone calls you and identifies him or herself as an employee of my Office demanding payment in the form of gift cards, it’s a scam.”
Here is the alert from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office on jury duty scams:
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=619511736867726&set=a.248344087317828
Here is a link to our video involving a previous jury scam victim:
https://youtu.be/hoF7iso5F04