Fake jury duty calls cost one Florida woman over $40,000

A Sarasota County woman lost more than $40,000 after callers posing as the Sheriff's Office told her she had missed jury duty and would be arrested. She put $18,000 in cash into an ATM, and the demands kept coming.

What happened

The woman, who asked not to be named, got three calls in a row. The caller said she had a warrant for her arrest. He told her she could clear it that day without being arrested, but only by putting cash into an ATM.

When she tried to end the call, the caller turned more threatening. He said she would face another charge and claimed she was under a gag order, so she could not tell anyone. She went to an ATM and deposited $18,000. Then he came up with another reason she needed to put in more money.

She finally reached out in secret to a friend who works in law enforcement. She asked whether the sheriff's office would ever have her pay off a warrant at a Circle K ATM. The answer was no, and the friend told her to hang up. By then she had lost more than $40,000.

Why it works

Sarasota County Clerk of the Circuit Court Karen Rushing says scammers lean on fear and urgency so people do not stop to question the call. She says they start out sounding like a friend, and soon you owe them money. They can also spoof the phone number, which means making a call look like it comes from a real law enforcement agency.

Stacy Fellows of Venice got a similar call and lost nothing. She says the caller was very aggressive and seemed to know what he was talking about. That confidence is part of the trick.

Who it affects

The reports so far come from Sarasota County residents. But the scam needs only a phone, so anyone could get this call. People who worry about a warrant may be the most likely to panic and comply.

What to do

The alert box above lists the steps. The key point is that a real court or sheriff does not demand money over the phone to clear a warrant. Rushing put it plainly: the clerk's office and the sheriff will not ask you for money. The claim of a gag order is a pressure tactic meant to keep you from asking someone you trust.

The report does not say how many people have lost money or whether the woman can recover any of it.