A recurring scam attempting to get residents to pay money to avoid arrest due to missing jury duty or due to an outstanding warrant is making its way around St. Joseph County, now using a screenshot of a fake court order.
The latest scam attempts involve a phone call or text message using name of an actual County Police officer stating that a Judge has issued a warrant demanding the victim’s arrest and demanding payment of funds to avoid the arrest, usually due to missing Jury Duty. The scammers have just recently began including sending a screenshot to the victim of a fake Order purportedly issued by St. Joseph Circuit Court Judge John Broden. The scammers then instruct payment via Bitcoin, CoinStar, PayPal, Venmo, gift cards, or via a deposit of cash into a bank account number.
St. Joseph County residents should again be aware and alert. The callers are very convincing and persuasive, using fear to cloud the victim’s judgment while the caller attempts to get the victim to act quickly without thinking about what they are being asked to do.
St. Joseph County Courts do not issue warrants for arrest for failing to appear for jury duty. The St. County Sheriff Department does not call individuals informing them of a warrant or court order for their arrest. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department does not allow you to pay funds over the phone to avoid arrest on a warrant.
If a resident receives a call threatening their arrest, they should tell the caller that they are going to hang up and call the County Police or the Court to verify the warrant or order. Residents can also report the call to the police by calling 911.
The callers often use spoofing apps to make it appear on the victim’s caller ID that the call is coming from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department, some have recently been from what look like County government numbers with 574-235 or 574-245 prefixes or for leave messages telling victims to call 574-227-1626.
Unfortunately, in the past 6 weeks at least two St. Joseph County residents have fallen prey to the scammers. In early June, a 31-year-old woman from Granger paid $5,000 via CoinStar to phone scammers posing as federal agents with a warrant for her arrest due to missing jury duty in federal court. Two weeks ago, a 62 year-old Granger man paid $3,200 via Venmo to phone scammers posing as Conty Sheriff’s officers stating that they had a warrant for the victims arrest due to missing jury duty. The scammers also texted the victim a photo of a fake order from Circuit Court Judge demanding his arrest or fine of $3,200.
County Police detectives continue to investigate both fraud cases.
