Officials warn of phone scam in Guilford County

Guilford County law enforcement officials are warning residents of a phone scam involving a caller falsely trying to collect money for missed jury duty. 

According to Sheriff Danny Rogers, an incident on June 11 mirrored previous scams that have been reported in Guilford County.

A fake caller said he was with the county sheriff’s office and claimed the person answering had failed to show up for jury duty. The caller insisted local District Court Judge Brian Tomlin had issued an arrest warrant and a $2,000 fine. The scammer then attempted to extort money from the victim via an electronic payment or gift card.

Judge Tomlin learned of the con and reported it to the sheriff’s office.

County officials note that the sheriff’s office would never demand payment over the phone or ask for personal or financial information. 

Residents are being urged to not answer calls from unknown numbers or return one-ring calls from those numbers. Officials say that if you answer and believe it to be a scam, just hang up without talking. And don’t press any buttons or give out any information.