The San Benito County Sheriff's Department says it recently received two calls regarding scams in which a person claiming to be a deputy says the victim missed jury duty, and now has a warrant for their arrest. The victim is then told they can pay the fine over the phone and the warrant will be recalled. The process for payment is for the victim to go buy "pre-paid" credit cards and call the false deputy back with the PIN numbers on the cards.
"Of course, the person calling is NOT a deputy, and not affiliated with our county," Capt. Eric Taylor said in a press release. "One victim lost money by following the instructions, the second victim refused."
The San Benito County Sheriff's Office does not collect fines for the courts, "and we would never ask for any payment over the phone," Taylor said. "If you ever receive a suspicious call like this, hang up and call the Sheriff's dispatch or 9-1-1 to report it."
"Further, if you are ever asked to pay for something by buying "pre-paid" or "green dot" cards, then giving the collecting party the PIN number, you can be relatively sure it is a scam and you should verify who you are talking to by hanging up, and calling said agency directly. Do not use a call-back number provided by the person on the phone."
If you have any questions, contact the San Benito County Sheriff's Office.