Fake jury duty scam calls demand money, threaten jail time in Florida

Kevin Karnes, the Lee County Clerk of Court, is trying to get the word out about scam callers using jury duty to take money out of your pocket.

“The clerks office will never call you for missed jury payment, and we will never ask for money even if you did get into contact with us about your jury service,” Karnes said.

But Lynda Barzee did receive a phone call from someone posing as law enforcement, demanding money and threatening her with jail time, all because she missed jury duty.

“I said, ‘Look, I emailed and I gave him the name of the clerk,’ and he said, ‘That doesn’t matter right now. We are coming to arrest you,’ and he told me they had a bondsman right there and that I can pay $2,900 and there is no fee. I’d get it back when I came to court,” Barzee said.

Barzee said she received that phone call just last week.

“The caller ID showed Lehigh Acres,” Barzee said. “It sounds legitimate. For a second I was scared.”

Karnes told WINK News that there has been an increase in these scam calls, so he wants to make sure no one falls for it.

“We will never call you, not just the clerk’s office, the sheriff’s office, the court system, Our default practice is to communicate via mail,” Karnes said.

Karnes said if you ever receive one of these phone calls, you should immediately contact law enforcement.