DeKalb County Sheriff Jeff Mann is warning residents of a phone scam involving flimflammers claiming to be deputies.
The hucksters dial residents and accuse them of missing jury duty, a bogus transgression they claim requires payment of a trumped-up fine. The grift has previously been reported in north and middle Georgia.
“The call is a scam – a hoax,” Mann said in a Friday news release. “The sheriff’s office will never call a person to say they will be arrested unless they pay a fine for not appearing for jury duty.”
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The ne’er-dowells also missed another memo: DeKalb folks who miss jury duty are notified by mail, not the phone.
They try to convince unwitting residents they’re legitimate by using the names and badge numbers of bona fide local lawmen.
The sheriff advises victims of the bamboozlers to simply hang up. They can also contact the local office of the FBI to report the con.
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