Sheriff Joe Baron and the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office Consumer Protection Unit are warning citizens of a jury duty scam once again making its rounds in the Norfolk area. We have recently been contacted by several citizens who have received calls from someone portraying themselves as an employee of the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office, claiming the citizen missed jury duty and must pay a fine to avoid jail time. The caller says the citizen must pay approximately $2,500 per fine and tells the citizen they have multiple fines, stating they owe several thousand dollars in fines.

To get the word out about this scam and other likes it, the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office recently purchased billboard space in high traffic areas around Norfolk. Additionally, Sheriff Joe Baron has put together a scam task force comprised of sheriff’s office employees who have been visiting area businesses dropping off scam alert posters. These posters have been distributed to over 100 businesses in Norfolk.

“While this scam has been going around for several years, we’ve recently heard from a number of citizens who have fallen victim to these tactics. We are committed to keeping citizens from falling for this scam and wanted to find a way to get the word out. Through our billboards and posters, we hope citizens will take note of the warning and if they receive one of these calls that they will simply hang up the phone,” stated Sheriff Joe Baron.

As a reminder, the Norfolk Sheriff's Office will NEVER call asking for money over the phone and correspondence regarding jury duty is always done through the mail. Additionally, we will NEVER call and tell someone there is a warrant for their arrest. 

It’s important to note, Virginia State Code § 8.01-356 states “If any juror who has been given due notice to appear in court shall fail to do so without sufficient excuse, he shall be fined not less than $50 nor more than $200.” Meaning, you will never be arrested for missing jury duty and never have to pay more than $200.

We ask that any resident who has fallen victim to this scam and sent money to the callers, please contact the Norfolk Police Department's Economic Crimes Division to file a report.

For additional information about common scams, please visit the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office Consumer Protection Unit website at https://norfolk-sheriff.com/fraudwatch.

If you've been subjected to a scam attempt like this, please contact
the Norfolk Sheriff's Office's Consumer Protection Unit to file a report.

Several people in Norfolk have reported that they've received phone calls - purportedly from a clerk with Norfolk Circuit Court - claiming that the recipient of the call failed to complete some sort of legal obligation and has to pay a fee to avoid being arrested.

The person attempting to perpetrate this scam identifies himself as "Jack Tiernan," who actually is a law clerk with the court. However, the number that shows up in caller-ID is not his.

One person who the scammer tried to trick was able to record a portion of the call he and his wife received while it was in progress. You can listen to it here:

As you can clearly hear, there were many inconsistencies in how the scammer presented information.

A representative of Norfolk Circuit Court told us they're receiving two or three reports a day from people who have received a call from this scammer attempting to frighten them into giving up their money in order to stay out of trouble. The representative said that many of the people reporting this live in the Larchmont area of the city. They said this may be because Larchmont has many older and more affluent residents.

In this case, it has not yet gotten to the point of the caller specifying how much money the intended victim should pay, or how it should be delivered. "I suspect if it ever came down to payment it would be in the usual means of gift or money pak cards which itself sets off alarms, or should," said Capt. Mike Imprevento, the OIC of NSO's Consumer Protection Unit.

When the intended victim called the number back that was displayed on caller-ID, he said a recording in the same voice could be heard stating that this was the office of Jack Tiernan, and to leave a message (which he wisely did not do).

However, a member of the Norfolk Police Department's Economic Crimes Unit told us: "Often these people have a way to mask/display a different outgoing number on caller-ID. We have seen cases where the number calling the people is literally the same number as Navy Federal, as in they hang up with the scammer, call the same number back, and it connects to legit NFCU. Same with our police operations center, where the outgoing scam call was made and displayed the callback number of the POC (Police Operations Center), 664-7000.

"These same scams have been prevalent with both the NSO, mentioning the Sheriff, the Chief of Police, and other agencies all over the country. It wouldn’t surprise any of us if they were centered outside of the United States."

DON'T BE FOOLED BY THESE SCAMMERS! IF YOU RECEIVE A CALL LIKE THIS, REPORT IT TO AUTHORITIES!

If you've been subjected to a scam attempt like this, please contact
the Norfolk Sheriff's Office's Consumer Protection Unit to file a report.

"Baby Boomers were scammed out of more than $3.4 billion in 2023 by fraudsters who phone the aging victims with bogus offers of tech support or to wire money to fake accounts — leaving some “destitute,” federal officials said," according to a report in the New York Post.

It says: "Losses from scams reported by Americans over the age of 60 surged 11% last year from the previous year, according to an FBI report released Tuesday."

From the FBI:

Every day, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) receives thousands of complaints reporting a wide array of scams, many of them targeting the elderly. In 2023, total losses reported to the IC3 by those over the age of 60 topped $3.4 billion, an almost 11% increase in reported losses from 2022. There was also a 14% increase in complaints filed with IC3 by elderly victims. However, these numbers do not fully capture the frauds and scams targeting this vulnerable cross-section of our population, as only about half of the more than 880,000 complaints received by IC3 in 2023 included age data. The FBI is publishing the 2023 IC3 Elder Fraud Annual Report in hopes of shining a spotlight on the frauds and scams impacting those over 60 and preventing not only future victimization but also revictimization. 

Combatting the financial exploitation of those over 60 years of age continues to be a priority of the FBI. Along with our partners, we continually work to aid victims and to identify and investigate the individuals and criminal organizations that perpetrate these schemes and target the elderly. The IC3 serves as the FBI's central intake point for reports of frauds and scams. Compilation of statistics based on these reports helps law enforcement develop strategies to combat these schemes and protect victims from loss. This year, as in 2022, tech support fraud was the number one crime type impacting complainants over 60, while investment scams continued to be the costliest to the elderly in terms of financial losses suffered.

You can read the entire report HERE, or by clicking on the linked image in the right-hand column.

The article went on to say: "In all, the feds received more than 100,000 complaints from Baby Boomers — those between the ages of 59 and 77 — who said they had fallen victim to these scams.

"Nearly 6,000 of those lost more than $100,000.

“'It can be a devastating impact to older Americans who lack the ability to go out and make money,' Deputy Assistant Director James Barnacle of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division said.

“'People lose all their money. Some people become destitute.'

"The most commonly reported fraud among older adults last year involved criminals calling homes, posing as technical support or customer service representatives.

"The FBI has warned that there’s a growing trend where fraudsters impersonate technology, banking and government officials in order to convince victims that their bank accounts have been hacked.

"To resolve the issue, scammers instruct victims to move their funds into a new account — one that’s actually controlled by the swindlers.

"In some cases, criminals have had people drain their bank accounts under the guise that they need to either liquidate their assets into cash or buy gold or other precious metals to protect their funds.

"Then, the fraudsters brazenly send couriers to the victim’s home to collect the cash or gold.

"Federal investigators saw an uptick in these crippling crimes between May and December.

"In other cases, 'the fraud schemes are asking victims to send money via a wire transfer, or a cryptocurrency transfer, Barnacle said.

"'When the victim is reluctant to do that, they’re given an alternative. And so the bad guy will use courier services.'

"The FBI also noted that the financial loss suffered by Baby Boomers is likely an undercount.

"Only about half of the more than 880,000 overall complaints reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center last year included information on the age of the victim."

If you've been subjected to a scam attempt like this, please contact
the Norfolk Sheriff's Office's Consumer Protection Unit to file a report.