Scammer poses as Monterey County Sheriff’s Sgt.
Several people have reported that a sergeant with the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has called them to say they’ve missed jury duty and asks for money.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office wants the public to know the calls are a scam. The Sheriff’s Office said, someone is claiming to be “Sgt. Cooper” who tells people they have a warrant out for their arrest and that they can settle it by payment over the phone.
“The citizen’s are given the option to purchase prepaid gift cards, in the ballpark of $750, and settle it over the phone by providing “Sgt. Cooper” the account numbers and access codes on the back of the prepaid gift cards in exchange for recalling the warrants,” said Commander John Thornburg.
The Sheriff’s Office does have a Sgt. Cooper, but authorities said he has not been calling people about this issue.
MCSO said they do not call and collect money to settle warrants.
“In addition, court staff will not contact citizen’s via telephone initially for a jury summons FTA. Court staff do not have or store citizen’s telephone numbers for jury summons procedures.”
Court staff send out initial jury summons via US Mail.
Since Tuesday, at least five people have called Monterey County Sheriff’s to ask about warrants related to jury duty.
Santa Cruz Police posted to Twitter warning the community about phone and email scams. The department listed some tips to prevent you from becoming a scam victim.
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