Dallas woman warns of new jury duty scam after nearly falling for it
DALLAS - A Dallas County woman says she almost fell for a jury duty scam.
She received a call from someone claiming to be a Dallas County deputy saying she needed to settle a "legal matter" related to jury duty.
The woman figured it out fast, but it doesn't happen like that for everyone.
For the average law-abiding citizen, receiving a call that you might be arrested because you missed jury duty can sound very serious.
The voicemail one Dallas woman received was so believable that she called the number back only to find it was a scam.
When Lisa Cobb heard this message, she believed it.
"I’m a deputy down at the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department, ma’am, and I have a legal matter that’s regarding you, and it’s urgent," the scammer claimed.
Cobb called the alleged deputy back.
"And when he started talking to me, he did sound like it," she said. "He was very calm, collected. He was very polite and very respectful."
As the conversation progressed, Cobb got a feeling she wasn’t actually talking to a deputy.
"I said, ‘Sir, I’m not going to continue unless you give me your badge number,’" she recalled.
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When he finally gave one, Cobb hung up and called the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office. A woman who answered said that it was a scam recently going around.
Cobb learned the caller used the name of someone who actually used to work for the sheriff’s office.
Doug Sisk with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office says he sees this scam two to three times a week.
Sometimes the name is a current member of the force or a former employee. Regardless, Sisk made one thing very clear.
"No one from the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department is ever going to call you and request money over the phone because you missed jury duty," Sisk said.
The sheriff’s office also won’t call to request money for outstanding warrants or request payments in the form of gift cards, Zelle or Venmo.
"If you get these calls, just hang up on them," Sisk said. "Or if you want to tell them, ‘Come arrest me!’ I mean no one’s going to come out and arrest you."
Sisk says any communication between the court and a potential juror will go through the U.S. mail. And if there is a legal matter, an investigator would show up in person.
Cobb feels lucky she caught on to the scam in time, but she wants others to be aware in case they do fall victim.
"These people are getting better and better, and it’s not so obvious," she said. "Sadly, you have to be suspicious of everything these days."
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Information on those summoned for jury duty is not available to the public, so it really was a coincidence that Cobb had just missed jury duty before receiving the call.
Sisk says this scam is happening all over and not just in Dallas County.
He said one of the best tips is if you suspect it’s a scam, you should hang up and call the jury services direct line to confirm the information.