CHARLOTTE — Rick told Action 9 that his son has his old phone and called him one day recently.
“He said, ‘Dad, I just got a call. The police are coming after you.’ And I said, ‘What?’” Rick said.
Rick, who asked not to use his last name, called the number back.
“His name was Lieutenant -- we’ll use the name Smith -- with the Iredell County Sheriff’s [Office]. He said, ‘...we have a warrant out for your arrest.’ Excuse me?” Rick said.
He says the officer claimed he missed jury duty, one of the most common scams Action 9 attorney Jason Stoogenke comes across. In fact, the FTC says government impersonation scams in general soared in recent years.
“The guy was so professional. That’s what blew me away,” Rick told Stoogenke. “It was just so real. The guy was so personal … He knew me. He knew about the addresses I had had.”
Rick says all he had to do to get out of trouble was pay $6,500.
Instead, he says he called deputies -- the real ones -- and confirmed it was a scam. “A little bit of investigative work paid off,” Rick said.
Stoogenke warns you about this scam often. But -- it pops up so much -- he wants to make sure you don’t fall victim:
- Miss jury duty: it’s $50 each time.
- No one will call you about official jury summonses and failure to appear notices. They come in the mail.
- Court officials and officers never call to threaten to arrest you and certainly don’t offer you to ‘pay’ your way out of it.
- Don’t trust your Caller ID.
- Not sure? Hang up, look up the court number yourself, and ask.
>>CLICK HERE for more Action 9 reports
10 Common Scams:
1. Government Impostor
2. Toll Bill
3. Amazon Impostor
4. Tech Support
5. Grandma, Grandpa, It’s Me
6. Me to Me
7. (Fake) Dog
8. Romance (Catfishing)
9. You won: Job, Sweepstakes, Lottery
(VIDEO: ‘Slap in the face’: Concertgoers fall victim to ticket scam at Spectrum Center)
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