Twin Falls Sheriff: Watch for Jury Duty Phone Scam

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KLIX)-The Twin Falls County Sheriff's Office is warning residents of a jury duty scam scaring people into thinking they'll go to jail if they don't pay money. The sheriff's office shared on social media a warning of the scam that has been reported in Twin Falls county recently trying to get citizens to pay money over the phone to avoid jail time because they supposedly missed jury duty.

Deputy Won't Ask for Money

The sheriff's office advises that deputies or officers of the court will never ask you to pay over the phone for missing jury duty or ask them to get a prepaid credit card to do so. Also, people should never give any personal information to a caller that asks for it, that is not common practice.

Don't pay over the phone

According to usa.gov, people should never pay over the phone by giving a credit card number or bank account information. Many times scam callers will use masked numbers that look like local phone numbers. If the call seems suspicious
hang up. Many times the scammer will ask the victim to take immediate action or action will be taken against them. According to usa.gov, people can add their phone number to the Do Not Call Registry to avoid being scammed or report a scam or you can call 1-888-382-1222 to register.

Report phone scams

Phone scams can be reported to the Federal Trade Commission by calling 1-877-382-4357, or by going online to their WEBSITE. Twin Falls County Sheriff's office notes that deputies will not come to your house and arrest you if you miss jury duty.

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