Arrest Warrant Scams

Beware Of Fake Arrest Warrant Scam – Either By Phone Or By Email

Scammers are reaching out to potential victims by sending fake arrest warrants by email or calling on the phone

Introduction

People continue to receive fraudulent phone calls claiming that the victim failed to appear for jury duty (or some other pretext) in local or federal court and/or has an arrest warrant or similar adverse situation. The scammer tells the victim that he or she can avoid arrest or other negative consequences by making a payment, which may include purchasing a pre-paid card—such as a Green Dot card or gift card—and then giving the card number to the scammer.

The scammer may sound convincing and use real information about the victim; real court addresses; and real names of law enforcement officers, court officials, and federal judges to make the scam appear more credible. Scammers may even “spoof” the phone number on caller ID so that the call falsely appears to be from a court number (such as 404-215-1600) or the number of another government agency.

New Email Scams

This is a warning about a fake arrest warrant scams. The new scam is currently circulating everywhere. It is not that Arrest Warrant Scams are new, but what is new is how they have shifted to email and are providing very professionally designed fake documents to support the scam.

This email scam is unique because the communications contain credible-looking warrants with the local or state/province court’s seal, a real judge’s name, and markings that the document comes from the local police or sheriff’s office.\

Phone Scam Version

When calling potential victims by telephone, the scammers are spoofing the judiciary or the local police or sheriff’s office phone numbers and using the names of staff members to add to the appearance of credibility.

What They Want

The scammers then ask for money to make the charges go away while using high-pressure tactics, including the threat of arrest without immediate payment via pre-paid cards or online payment services like Venmo, Zelle, Paypal, etc.

“It is only a matter of time before it happens here, and I can confidently state that the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office will never call or email anyone and ask for money related to a court warrant,” said Kemler.

“Unfortunately, it is difficult to crack down on these tech-savvy scammers because emails and calls are often generated from out-of-state or foreign locations”
While the matter remains under investigation in Pennsylvania, Kemler advised residents not to hit reply if they suspect an email might be a scam. If residents receive a call, they are advised to hang up.

Remember

These phone calls are not from a real court or law enforcement agency.

You should not provide the caller with any personal information, credit card numbers, pre-paid card numbers, or money.

Here are the facts:

• The court will always send a jury summons by mail (not email.)
• The court and law enforcement will never demand payment over the phone.
• The court and law enforcement will never demand a gift card number to satisfy an obligation.
• A prospective juror who disregards a jury summons will be contacted through the mail by the court clerk’s office and may, in certain circumstances, be ordered to appear before a judge. Such an order will always be in writing and signed by the judge.
• A fine will never be imposed until after the individual has appeared in court and been given the opportunity to explain his or her circumstances. If a fine is imposed, it will be in open court and made in writing (and will not be payable by gift card number).

If you have received a scam phone call or if you wish to verify whether you have been summoned for jury duty contact your local police and court for help!