BBB warns Middle Georgia residents about jury duty scams

Scammers are posing as law enforcement officers and demanding payment for missed jury duty, according to the Better Business Bureau.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The Better Business Bureau of Central Georgia is warning the public about a rise in jury duty scams targeting residents.

The BBB says jury duty scams are a form of imposter fraud in which scammers attempt to steal money. CEO and President Kelvin Collins says scammers will call pretending to be a law enforcement officer or city clerk, claiming the victim missed jury duty and has a warrant for their arrest. He says they then demand payment of a fine to avoid jail time.

“So, it deals with the fear of, ‘oh no’, I’ve done something wrong, I didn’t realize I had jury duty, now I have to pay a fine or they’re going to arrest me,” he said. “And I can tell you from speaking with many.”

Scammers may try to sound authentic by using a badge number or altering caller ID information to appear as though the call is coming from a sheriff’s office or 911 call center.

“If you start resisting any, they will get belligerent with you, and that’s one of the things that you can pretty much tell it’s not going to be a real sheriff department or police department; they don’t get belligerent with you,” Collins said. “They treat you with a level of respect and these guys; if they can’t get fear into you, they will try to bully you into giving money.”

Collins says if you receive such a call, do not panic.

“If you receive something like that, take the opportunity to check it out a little further and what we hope by getting this message out; that people think about these calls before they receive them,” he said. “If you know how you’re going to handle the call before you receive it, you do pretty well when you actually do receive the scam call.”

If you experience a call like this, call law enforcement and block the number.