News release from the Allen County Sheriff’s Department:
Sheriff: Jury Duty and IRS phone scams fraud alert
(September 9, 2015) – The Allen County Sheriff’s Department has received numerous calls in reference to phone scams currently taking place in Fort Wayne and Allen County.
In the first scam the caller claims to be a member of the Allen County Sheriff’s Department. The victim is told that warrants have been issued for their arrest for missing Jury Duty. They are instructed to go to Kroger’s and purchase a 1-2-3 Pay Card for one thousand dollars. Once the card is purchased, the suspects can electronically withdrawal the money from the card. The victim is told that once they appear in court the money will be refunded to them.
In the second scam the victim is told that the caller is with the IRS and they are delinquent on taxes and the sheriff will arrive within the hour to place them under arrest. They are then informed to complete the same steps as the first scam.
The scammers will change names, dollar amounts, payment methods and reasons for the arrest warrants. The IRS will not call you by phone and send someone to your home to arrest you. The Sheriff’s department will not call you and request you electronically pay a bond or bail amount to stop from being arrested. It you receive a call asking for money please ask for contact information and call your local police department.
Read also – Bogus Jury Duty calls surface again in Allen County.
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Jury duty and IRS scams. Those scam tricks are maybe two of the most popular scam tricks that have been around since several years ago. However, there are still some people fall for these scams until now. I think police department, FTC, or any other authorities should make any seminars or forum to educate people about these scams.