Phone scammers are impersonating officials from local clerk’s offices and claiming residents have missed jury duty before demanding their targets make payments to avoid arrest.
St. Lucie County’s Clerk and Comptroller officials raised awareness about the scammers Wednesday in a tweet saying the scam is being tried across Florida.
“A jury scam claiming a resident has missed jury service and must pay the Clerk with a gift card or face arrest is circulating through (Florida),” the tweet said.
Officials with the Sarasota County Clerk and Comptroller’s Office said Friday they are aware of the scam and that they have not been notified of scam attempts here currently.
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Jennifer Linzy, public information officer for the Manatee County Clerk and Comptroller’s Office, said they know of one person in Manatee who was contacted by scammers.
The Manatee resident received a call about missing jury duty and was advised by the scammer to buy gift cards to pay a fine or face being arrested by police, Linzy said.
She added this is not a new scam but rather a resurgence of one tried in the past.
A year ago, a similar scam was reported by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office in which scammers were pretending to be an officer and telling victims that they have an arrest…
