FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A 74-year-old woman was defrauded of $1,200 by a person claiming to be a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputy who said she missed jury duty and a warrant had been issued for her arrest.
The Palm Coast woman told deputies she received a call Saturday from a person who identified themselves as “Deputy Davis,” who said a warrant was issued for her arrest for failure to appear for jury duty in June.
The victim was then transferred to a person who identified themselves as “Sgt. Cooper,” who told her she would have to pay a bond of $816.90 and appear in court to have her “warrant waved,” according to the report.
The scanner then instructed the woman to purchase Green Dot MoneyPak reloadable gift cards totaling $805 plus activation feeds.
After giving the scammer the security codes for the Green Dot MoneyPak cards the victim was told to mail the cards to an address in Punta Gorda.
“Sgt. Cooper” then told the 74-year-old one of the cards was defective and she needed to buy two more cards.
The person posing as a Flagler "sergeant" stayed on the phone with the 74-year-old “in case she was pulled over so he could explain to the deputy that she is in his custody and to not arrest her on the alleged warrant,” according to the report.
After the ordeal, the victim told her brother what happened and he told her he had seen a post on the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page warning people about the scam.
The FCSO has received multiple calls from citizens reporting a new scam where the caller is claiming to be a deputy with...
Posted by Flagler County Sheriff's Office on Saturday, August 10, 2019
The Sheriff’s Office issued a community service alert Saturday after receiving multiple calls from people saying they had been contacted by a deputy with the Sheriff’s Office and telling them they missed a subpoena or have a warrant for their arrest.
“The FCSO will NEVER call residents to alert you of a missed subpoena or a warrant for your arrest and we do NOT accept payments over the phone,” the post read.
The victim called authorities Monday and a deputy was able to intercept the MoneyPak cards from the post office. However, MoneyPak employees told the deputy once a security number is given to someone the transaction cannot be reversed, deputies said.
The victim was defrauded out of $1,205, according to the report. The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone who receives a phone call like this should hang up and call the FCSO nonemergency number at 386-313-4911.