Two Detroit area women nearly trapped in jury duty scam
Jury duty scam preys on vulnerability, near ensnares two Detroit area women
Two Metro Detroit women were targeted recently with a jury duty scam that threatened them with jail time if they didn't pay a massive fine.
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - A jury duty phone scam continues to make the rounds and is now prompting warning from the Department of Justice. It was convincing for two Metro Detroit women – but then they spotted the red flags.
Here's the scam: Callers threaten victims with arrest unless they make immediate payments for supposedly not showing up for jury service. But it's even more than that – they do their homework and pretend to be law enforcement, spoofing real numbers, and come prepared with an alleged file on their targets.
Kelsey Hogan is a social media influencer and business owner and said she never thought it would happen to her.
"I almost got scammed out of $9,000," Hogan said
It was just after Christmas and Hogan missed a call from someone claiming to be with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.
"It quickly said ‘hey it's the Oakland County Sheriff, we want to clear something up’ and I immediately thought of ‘Gosh it’s a parking ticket'," she said.
When she called the number back, she got an automated sytem.
"Press 1 to speak with an officer, press 2 for non-emergency, press 3 for this. It was a full menu," she said.
Hogan was told she had missed jury duty and was looking at some serious penalties.
"This is so serious that you need to come down to the station today," she said.
She wasn't the only one. Realtor Ashley Jolley had a similar experience and was even a bit skeptical – but the scammers were convincing.
"So I answer and they tell me they are with the sheriff's department and I missed a jury duty," Jolley said. "I started typing in the number he called me from on Google. And it came up a Wayne County number and I lived in Wayne County so it checked out."
The DOJ and cyber-security experts say these are professional criminals who intentionally try to confuse and scare their victims so they make impulsive decisions.
"He kept talking to me like he was a police officer, (saying) 'Ma'am calm down, take a deep breath.' Very professional yet police officer-type tone," Hogan said.
"I've never been in trouble with the police and I don't know if this is normal, if this is what I'm supposed to do," Jolley said.
In both cases, it nearly worked.
In Jolley's case, she was able to pick up on a very small but important mistake and stopped the scam before they could even ask for money.
"I asked what address did you serve me at? They actually gave me an address that we own but it's a cabin up north," she said.
Hogan also spotted red flags too.
"I was texting my boyfriend and mom who kept telling me to hang up it's a scam. It was psychological fraud," Hogan said.
She was told, in order to avoid criminal charges, she'd have to pay two fees of $4,500 each.
"This is when the threats started. If you hang up ma'am this will go from a civil case to a criminal case," she said.
The threat of jail kept her on the hook but when she was told to go to a ‘sheriff’s kiosk', she got the courage to hang up.
"Nothing happened. He didn't call me back The police did not come and arrest me," Hogan said.
Both women reported the call to the real police.
"Before I could even confirm the badge number they were like it's scam," Jolley said.
What you can do:
Be alert. Hogan and Jolley are no victims. Hogan is using her social media platform to educate others. That's where she learned the likely intent of the scammers.
"These are Bitcoin kiosks and the scammers have you deposit the money into the Bitcoin kiosks and I don't really know how that works – and it goes to whoever the recipient is," Hogan said.
This scam isn't new. In fact, the Oakland County Sheriff warned last summer that the scams were growing in Oakland County.
The scam wouldn't keep happening if victims weren't trapped. Hogan and Jolley both understand why.
The DOJ says law enforcement and the court will not call and ask for payment. They also will not ask via email.
If you were to miss jury duty, you would first have to appear in court before a judge until a punishment or fine is issued.
The Source: FOX 2 spoke to both Kelsey Hogan and Ashley Jolley for this story.