27 November 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office warns that the “Jury Duty” scam has returned to the county.
Someone is calling residents of Sedgwick County, claiming to be with the sheriff’s office. If you receive one of these calls, they will tell you that you have missed jury duty and a citation has been issued.
They use a system that makes it appear they are calling you from a number at the sheriff’s office. They will demand you pay a “fine” immediately, or someone will be coming to arrest you within the hour.
They will often ask you to buy some form of a gift card and read the numbers to them. Other times they may direct you to transfer directly from your bank account or even purchase Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency that you then transfer to them.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are nearly impossible to trace or recover once transferred since the transactions are completely anonymous. While bank and credit/debit card transactions have federal laws governing them to protect consumers from theft, cryptocurrency has no protections at all and is not regulated, so once the money is spent to purchase it, it is gone.
The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office wants to remind everyone that no law enforcement agency will ever contact you and make you pay a fine over the telephone. Just hang up the phone. Never give out your Social Security number, credit or debit card, or bank account information over the phone unless you were the one who called to purchase or pay for something.
With the holiday shopping season underway, scams will become more prevalent. Shoppers need to be vigilant to ensure they don’t become the victim of scams or identity theft.
The Federal Trade Commission has a website where you can report fraud and scams that you can find, by clicking here. They also have resources available to report and assist if you have been the victim of identity theft, which you can find by clicking here.
For more tips on how you avoid scams, click here.