Jury duty scam costs victims thousands, according to El Paso County Sheriff’s County

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is warning the community of a new scam that costs victims thousands of dollars.

Callers have been threatening people over the phone, saying they missed jury duty and will face felony charges if they don’t pay up.

Officials with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office said the scammer has contacted someone who actually missed jury duty. They don't know how the scammer got that information, or if it's an isolated incident.

An EPCSO spokesperson said in this scam specifically, the scammers have been disguising their number as the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, asking victims to pay a hefty fine to get out of charges from a missed jury duty.

Unfortunately, the Sheriff's Office didn't know about the scam until it was too late.

"We had a couple of victims come into our lobby last week asking to sign a waiver," said Sergeant Deborah Mynatt with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. "Our front desk personnel was pretty confused. Upon further investigation, we realized they had fallen victim to a scam."

Officials said that scam is costing people big dollars.

In some cases, cyber scammers have swindled up to $4,000 from their victims, often in the form of gift cards so the money can never be traced.

"You went into that store, purchased the gift cards, provided the serial number to the scammer; it just becomes a cycle where the victim cannot get the money back," said Mynatt.

Though notices from the courts have been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Sheriff’s Office said it does not have a hand in any communications regarding jury duty.

Officials said they don’t know who is behind the scam.

If you ever receive a call from someone claiming to be a deputy with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, you can verify their identity by calling their dispatch line at (719) 390-5555.