Safety Alert: BSO Warns Of Jury Duty Scam
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BROWARD (CBSMiami) – The Broward Sheriff's Office is issuing a safety alert after reports are coming in that con artists are posing as deputies for a jury duty scam.
According to BSO, scammers call Broward residents saying they failed to show up for jury duty and must pay up or face arrest.
The pitch sounds real, apparently, because people are falling for it.
"He said, 'Sir, you've been scammed."
CBS4's Joan Murray spoke with a man who received a strange phone message on Saturday from someone claiming to be with the Broward Sheriff S Office.
The man, who wants to keep his identity private, shared the recorded message with Murray.
"You have reached the Broward Sheriff's Office located at Terminal Drive. If you have a name and case number, we will be sure to respond to you," the recording stated.
When he called back, someone impersonating a BSO deputy answered.
"It's Mike Sharpe, Broward County Sheriff's Office, can I help you?" the person said. "On October 24th, at 9:30 a.m., you were due to arrive at the Broward Clerk of Courts on Pine Island Road."
The so-called deputy told him there's a warrant out for missing jury duty and he has to pay a preset bond to avoid arrest.
"At one point, he said, 'You are gonna have to pay or we'll detain you,'" the man told Murray.
He said he was then transferred to someone with the "treasury" who told him how to pay the $12,000 bond. He was instructed to go to the drugstore and get prepaid MoneyPak cards
"Each warrant has to have a separate card, that's how they get you," the victim explained.
After getting the cards and paying over the phone, the victim was told to head to the BSO substation at the airport.
Once at the airport, he realized it was all a lie.
Such scams are nothing new says BSO spokeswoman Keyla Concepcion.
"They are playing to people's fears to get the money," Concepcion.
