Police Chief Charles Stone and the Norfolk Police Department wish to warn the public about a recent jury duty scam and other common scams.
Earlier this month, Norfolk Police received a report from a resident that a person had called and claimed that they were a Sheriff. The caller told the resident that they would be arrested for failing to report to Federal Jury Duty unless they paid a fine. The caller demanded gift cards in restitution from the resident or stated that an arrest warrant would be filed. The individual lost $3,400 before realizing the call was a scam.
Chief Stone would like to make residents aware that members of the public will not be contacted initially by email or phone for jury service and that restitution will never be demanded for failure to appear for jury duty. If you don’t respond to your jury summons and miss your jury duty date, you will be considered a delinquent juror and the Office of Jury Commissioner will first send a Failure to Appear Notice in the mail, then a Notice of Delinquency by mail before taking further action.
Anyone who has questions regarding jury duty should contact the OJC at 800-843-5879.
“Scammers often target vulnerable individuals, such as the elderly, to exploit them through the purchase of pre-paid gift cards or wire transfers,” Chief Stone said. “Once pre-paid gift cards or wire transfers are sent, it’s extremely hard to recover that money once you realize you’ve fallen victim to a scam….
