UPDATE: The St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office is adding their cautions to those issued earlier today by Calcasieu law enforcement.
Here's what Sheriff Bobby Guidroz has to say:
"The St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office is receiving reports of individuals who are receiving telephone calls from someone identifying themselves as the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office and claiming that there are court orders pending against the person they called for failing to report for jury duty.
"He provides dates, case numbers, and enough information to force the person to question the legitimacy of the call. The caller then requests that money be paid immediately to clear up the court order against you.
"THIS IS A SCAM! THE ST. LANDRY PARISH SHERIFF'S OFFICE WILL NEVER CALL YOU ABOUT PENDING CHARGES AGAINST YOU AND DEMAND PAYMENT OVER THE PHONE TO DISMISS THOSE PENDING CHARGES!
"When in doubt, tell the scammer that you will call them back. Then call the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office at 337-948-6516 to see if that was a legitimate call. DO NOT CALL THE NUMBER GIVEN TO YOU BY THE SCAMMER!
As per the Federal Trade Commission ( https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-avoid-scam ):
FOUR SIGNS THAT IT'S A SCAM:
1. Scammers PRETEND to be from an organization you know.
2. Scammers say there’s a PROBLEM or a PRIZE.
3. Scammers PRESSURE you to act immediately.
4. Scammers tell you to PAY in a specific way.
HOW TO AVOID BEING SCAMMED:
1. Block unwanted calls and text messages.
2. Don’t give your personal or financial information in response to a request that you didn’t expect.
3. Resist the pressure to act immediately.
4. Know how scammers tell you to pay. Never pay someone who insists that you can only pay with cryptocurrency, a wire transfer service like Western Union or MoneyGram, a payment app, or a gift card. And never deposit a check and send money back to someone.
5. Stop and talk to someone you trust. Before you do anything else, tell someone — a friend, a family member, a neighbor — what happened. Talking about it could help you realize it’s a scam.
Earlier today, Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Gary “Stitch” Guillory issued a warning to area residents of a scam that continuously surfaces in our area.
Victims report receiving a phone call stating they have missed jury duty or have some sort of legal issues and have fees associated that must be paid. The scammer instructs the victim to make a payment to void the warrant and avoid arrest. The caller may claim to be a deputy with the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office and use a name of a current CPSO deputy. The caller may be “spoofing” the CPSO main phone number to make it look like the call is coming from CPSO to appear legitimate.
Sheriff Guillory wants residents to know that under no circumstance will a deputy ever ask for money or any form of payment in lieu of missing jury duty or for an active warrant. Sheriff Guillory wants to remind residents of a few tips to use to avoid becoming a victim of a scam:
· Resist the pressure to make an immediate decision. Fraudsters create a sense of urgency to get you to act quickly.
· Verify the legitimacy of the request and information before sending any money
· Never send money based on a request made over the phone or in an e-mail.
If you're a resident of Calcasieu Parish and believe you have fallen victim to this scam, please contact the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office at 491-3605.
