Police Warning Loudoun County Residents of 'Jury Duty' Phone Scams

In light of recent phone scams, Loudoun County Sheriff’s office and the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Loudoun County are telling residents to be wary of phone calls from anyone claiming to be a deputy with the LCSO.

According to several reports, the caller states that a warrant has been issued for the residents arrest because they failed to report for jury duty. The caller goes on to say that they can avoid arrest by paying a fine using obtaining money card from a local store.

“The suspect’s plan is to use the appearance of authority and the threats of arrest in hopes that the victim will be more willing to provide the money,” said LCSO’s Mike Chapman in a news release. “These types of scams prey on a person’s fears.

According to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court, under no circumstance would a law enforcement official in Virginia be permitted to collect fines of this nature. Only the judges of the circuit court can order the payment of fines for failure to report for jury duty, but individuals would be required to attend a court hearing and explain why they neglected to report for jury duty before any fines are assessed.

“Jury service is an important civic duty and we do not want potential jurors to be intimidated or discouraged to serve as jurors by virtue of individuals who use these deceitful tactics to extort money from unsuspecting citizens,” stated Gary M. Clemens, Loudoun Clerk of the Circuit Court.

If you are a resident of Loudoun County and believe you were a victim of this scam or of a similar scam, please contact the Loudoun County Sheriff’s at 703-777-1021 or file a report online at http://sheriff.loudoun.gov/reportonline.

Scams are occurring with great frequency and take various forms so LCSO is suggesting to look at http://www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com/ for further information on the variety of consumer scams that are taking place