The Jefferson County Sheriff is warning of a phone scam in which people are told they missed jury duty and must pay up or go to jail.
The sheriff’s office received more than 10 reports of the scam over the weekend in which a man, calling himself “Major Tom Wilson” with the sheriff’s department, says jury duty has been missed and to avoid being locked up, the resident must pay him money, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
The person is told to go to Wal-Mart or Walgreens and buy $500 “Green Dot MoneyPak” cards for payment, according to the release.
The “major” — a rank that does not exist in the sheriff’s office — tells the victims to read him the numbers off the cards so he can access the cash, which works like a debt card, according to the release.
So far, one person, a senor citizen, fell for the scam and paid the suspect $1,000, said Mark Techmeyer, spokesman for the sheriff’s office.
The cards are untraceable, so they are more attractive to scammers than money wires, according to the release.
The sheriff’s office would never call and ask for payment of any kind, according to the release.
Anyone with information about these crimes is asked to call the sheriff’s office tip line at 303-271-5612.
Ryan Parker: 303-954-2409, rparker@denverpost.com or
