Schuylkill County court and law enforcement officials are warning residents about a reported phone scam in which a caller posing as a deputy sheriff tells a teacher they missed a jury summons and must deliver money to resolve the matter.
The specific scheme has not been reported in Schuylkill County, according to a September 14 joint release from Court of Common Pleas President Judge Jacqueline L. Russell, District Attorney Michael A. O’Pake and Sheriff Shawn Butler.
How the Reported Jury Duty Scam Works
In the reported calls, the person posing as a deputy sheriff first contacts a school district secretary and asks urgently to speak with a teacher by name. Once the teacher is on the phone, the caller claims the teacher failed to respond to a jury summons. The caller then instructs the teacher to obtain money, remain on the phone and meet at a specified location to hand it over.
Officials said the teacher’s name may have been found on a school district website.
What to Do If You Receive a Suspicious Call
The county courts, District Attorney’s Office and Sheriff’s Office will not call someone to demand payment for failing to respond to a jury summons, the officials said. Anyone who receives such a call should hang up and provide no personal information or payment.
The warning follows an earlier alert from the Pennsylvania courts about callers who mimic a court phone number and claim the recipient owes a fine for missing jury duty.
Residents who receive a suspicious call can report it to the District Attorney’s Office, Sheriff’s Office, state or local police, or the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection at 800-441-2555 or scams@attorneygeneral.gov. The Attorney General’s Office also accepts scam complaints online.