VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A 69-year-old Deland woman recently came home to an alarming voicemail: she missed jury duty and there was a warrant out for her arrest.
The woman, who is too embarrassed to be identified, said she called back the number - her caller ID showed it was the Volusia County Sheriff's Office. A convincing voice identified himself as a detective from the Sheriff''s Office Deltona District 4.
"The voice said to please call the sheriff's office number, need to speak to Lt. somebody, regarding a civil matter," the woman said. "When I got on the phone they said there was a warrant out for my arrest for not appearing for jury duty."
The woman did get a jury summons but called the night before and was released. She said the caller insisted she was not released and had to pay a fine or she would be arrested.
"They told me to go to Winn Dixie to get Money Paks," she said.
Money Paks are commonly used to send money. They contain a code which is used to cash the Money Pak.
The woman said she walked into the DeLand Winn Dixie while on the phone with the scam artist. He even directed her to where the Money Paks are located on the bottom shelf.
"It was very believable," she said.
The scammer named names at the Volusia County Sheriff's Office District 4 headquarters, including names of detectives and secretaries, and even gave her directions to get to the Deltona office to clear her name.
The woman said she purchased three Money Paks for $1,490. She gave the numbers on the Money Pak to the caller and never heard from him again.
"I just swallowed it hook, line and sinker," she said. "Never been scammed or anything like that. I learned a lesson, that's for sure. I hope everyone does. Just don't keep calling back the numbers."
The woman said she paid up because she has strong respect for law enforcement.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said that's what makes this scam so alarming.
"I think it's an insult to us, it's a shot at who we really are in law enforcement," Chitwood said. "We do not solicit. That's not what we do."
Chitwood said the caller could have researched names and addresses on the internet which are all publicly available. He said the caller could have been local, however he doesn't know how he knew about the woman's jury summons. That could have been a lucky guess, the sheriff said.
"Take an extra minute, even though its difficult, to break the way you think," Chitwood said. "Take a minute to call who you think is calling. Think for a minute 'Maybe I need to call the sheriff's office and call someone in the office.'"
The sheriff said deputies will never solicit money from citizens. If a scammer calls he said residents should ask if they can call them back, he said.
"In today's day and age it wouldn't be an insult for us if you were to say I want to check this out further and then call the real number," Chitwood said.
This scam is similar to a 2016 scam ring that was taken down by the FBI.
The FBI's Atlanta Division closed a 2-year-long investigation into 15 corrections officers, 19 civilians, and 19 inmates who were indicted for a scheme that involved inmates calling unsuspecting victims from cell phones smuggled into the jail. The inmates pretended to be law enforcement officers, threatening to arrest people for missing jury duty and collecting pre-paid cash cards.