Douglas County residents warned of jury duty scam
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. - If a Douglas County resident receives a call about being fined or jailed for missing jury duty, it’s a scam.
According to the Douglas County Board of Commissioners, the county does not make phone calls about jury duty nor will they issue bench warrants, fines or jail time for no-shows for jury duty.
Officials say a scammer, representing himself as a deputy or sergeant with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, has been calling residents and telling them that a bench warrant has been issued for them because they missed jury duty. The person then tells the “offender” they are required to pay a fine of spend 120 days in jail.
The statement said: “Most of the time the person receiving the scam call has never even gotten a Jury Summons, and the scammer tells the person that it doesn’t matter if they didn’t get a notice because it is their responsibility to know when they are supposed to serve on a Jury.”
The scammer then urges the “offender” to go to a Walgreen’s, CVS, or RiteAid and get a green dot card or other cash card in the amount of $500, $1,000 or other, and then call the scammer back with that card number so they can redeem the funds.
Officials said all jury summons are issued by the Douglas County Clerk of Superior Court, not the sheriff's office.
Anyone who has been scammed should contact the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office at 770.920.4910.