ABLEMARLE COUNTY, VA (cvillerightnow.com) – If it sounds familiar, it’s because you’ve heard about it before. Once again, scam artists are calling people to inform them that if they’ve missed jury duty or have a warrant out for the arrest for missing court, they’ll have to pay a fine to avoid jail time.

The latest calls are going out to residents of Albemarle County, and Sheriff Chan Bryant is asking that a news release go out to promote awareness and prevent more people from falling victim to such scams.

Another scam operation has shown up in many states. A “brushing scam” is when someone is mailed a gift or package from Amazon or other widely known retailers that have the recipient’s address but no information on who may have sent it. When the recipient opens the package to find out, there is a QR code. If scanned, all of the phone’s information will be sent to scammers, who often drain victim’s bank accounts. The gift can be kept or thrown away, but the QR code should NOT be scanned for any reason.

Albemarle County Sheriff’s Office December 17, 2024, News Release

The Albemarle County Sheriff’s Office has recently received an increased number of phone calls from victims regarding these scams and deems it of the utmost importance to issue this Press Release to promote awareness and prevent more people from falling prey to such scams.

Sheriff Chan Bryant of the Albemarle County Sheriff’s Office warns the public of a scam in which callers pose as deputies of the Albemarle County Sheriff’s Office. The scams claim that the victim has either missed jury duty, or they have a warrant for their arrest for missing court. The caller states that the person is about to be arrested for not appearing for jury duty but can avoid arrest by paying a fine. They also claim that a person can avoid going to jail if they pay a fine.

The scammers often provide information that seems very convincing, including the real names the location of the courthouse, court phone numbers, and case and badge numbers. Recent scammers have also included the victim’s work address, home address, and date of birth, which further leads the victim to believe the call is legitimate. The caller then tells the victim they can avoid arrest by paying an immediate fine and walks them through purchasing a prepaid debit or gift card or making an electronic payment to satisfy the “fine.”

Sheriff Chan Bryant warns, “The people conducting this scam can be very convincing. They call citizens and terrify them with threats of arrest and jail unless they pay immediately. The Albemarle County Sheriff’s Office does not operate this way. If we have a warrant for your arrest, we will serve the warrant at your residence, your phone number is not listed on arrest warrants.  We do not contact citizens and demand payment or personal information. This is a scam that has been profitable in the past and a several people have been victimized”

Here is additional information on things to remember, who to call, and what to do if a scammer contacts you:

  • Always be on guard against these crimes and be hesitant to provide any personal identifying information via text or over the phone. If someone contacts you and identifies him or herself as a deputy with Albemarle County Sheriff’s Office, please do not hesitate to contact our office at (434) 972-4001 to confirm their identity. Hours of operation are Monday – Friday 8AM to 4PM.
  • A court will never ask for a credit/debit card number, wire transfers, or bank routing numbers over the phone for any purpose.
  • The Albemarle County Sheriff’s Office personally serves jury summons to each citizen of Albemarle County. We will not call you because you missed jury duty. Most importantly, we never ask citizens to purchase pre-paid credit cards or debit cards.
  • A fine will never be imposed until after an individual has appeared in court and been given the opportunity to explain a failure to appear.
  • You can authenticate a call by contacting the Clerk’s Office of the Albemarle County Circuit Court at (434) 972-4083 to verify that you were not summoned for jury duty and that the scam call did not come from the court.
  • Report scams to the Albemarle County Police Department at (434) 296-5807.