The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about a recent jury summons phone scam where someone is claiming to be from the sheriff’s office and asks for payment via cryptocurrency.
According to the department, the scammer is representing themselves as a member of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.
They discovered the scammer, under the name Sergeant Locker, has called residents claiming they missed grand jury summons.
The scammer has a fake badge number and is telling residents that they missed a grand jury summons and that they owe $1,500 in court fees.
“The victims were instructed to use CoinFlip terminals (also known as Bitcoin ATMs) to buy Bitcoin and transfer the Bitcoin to the scammer’s cryptocurrency wallet,” the sheriff’s office said.
The victims were given instructions on how to pay using cryptocurrency, and once the payment was received, the scammer’s phone number is disconnected.
According to the sheriff’s office, the phone numbers used in the scam were internet phone numbers created by the scammer and canceled after the scam was completed.
“The Sheriff’s Office wants to warn the public of scammers representing themselves as members of Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, especially someone attempting to use the fictitious name Sergeant Locker,” the sheriff’s office said.
They are also reminding residents that the sheriff’s office will not ask anyone to pay fines using cryptocurrency or over the phone.
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