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 has urgent legal matters the caller must speak with them about. Oftentimes, the caller will tell the citizen they missed jury duty and must pay a fine to avoid jail time.

The name being used in the most recent calls is not the name of someone who works for the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office and the number being used is a computer-generated number out of Temperanceville, VA and has been associated with numerous scams.

“While this scam has been going around for years, we’ve recently heard from several citizens who received these scam calls this week. We are committed to continuing to spread the word about these scams and hope citizens will take note of the warning. Hopefully, if they receive one of these calls 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 in person through deputies or through a summons posted on residential doors. 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.

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The Norfolk Sheriff's Office is a values-driven organization
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