EVERETT — Detectives are warning of a telephone scam in which people are being told they missed jury duty and have a warrant out for their arrest.
A woman in her mid-60s called the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday to report her suspicions.
She had been instructed to buy a prepaid credit card to pay a fee to get the warrant lifted.
Once people tricked by the scam buy the credit card, they are asked to call back a phony warrant service phone number and leave the credit card number, officials said.
“No one in law enforcement will call citizens at home to demand money to have a warrant lifted,” Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Shari Ireton said. “That’s not how the process works.”
Similar phone scams have been circulating nationwide, including reports in Kitsap and Thurston counties.
Ireton suggests people take down as much information as they can about the person calling them and then call 911.
“No one should ever give out their bank or credit card information without verifying who is on the other end of the line first,” Ireton said.
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