Investigators warn of jury duty scam
Investigators in Rankin County are warning residents about a scam where callers pose as law enforcement and threaten arrest for missed jury duty.
By Scott Simmons
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BRANDON, Mississippi (WAPT) — Investigators in Rankin County are warning residents about a scam where callers pose as law enforcement and threaten arrest for missed jury duty.
Rankin County has received 911 calls from people scared they were headed to jail for not showing up for jury duty.
“You just don’t think things like this can happen to you,” said John Waits, who received a scam call.
John Waits got a very convincing call less than two weeks ago. The caller ID showed Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, and the scam artist had all of his personal info like address and date of birth and told him to come to the Rankin Courthouse immediately.
“The guy says, ‘I am going to stay on the phone with you until you get there.’ I say, ‘I am driving, I am not going to stay on the phone.’ He said, ‘Sir, you don’t need to disconnect this call,'” Waits said.
Luckily, Waits was able to make a few calls and figured out it was a scam.
“The guy got irate with me and said, ‘You are not paying attention to what I am telling you,'” Waits said.
“It is my understanding one individual lost somewhere between $4,000 and $5,000 to one of these scammers,” said Kathryn Newman, assistant district attorney for Rankin County.
It is a growing trend and one amplified in the past couple of months. Scammers can mask their phone number IDs to show law enforcement is calling and even use artificial intelligence to create other nuances of their hustle.
“And so, what they are doing is trying to convince these people to give them large sums of money to get themselves out of trouble,” Newman said.
The fact is, you never receive a phone call about jury duty. That comes through the mail, and Newman says if you do get a call like that from someone claiming to be police or law enforcement, and you are not sure, get their name and hang up and call their department.
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