Jury scams target unsuspecting victims in Lee County

LEE COUNTY, Fla. —

Stephanie Davis never imagined she would fall victim to a jury scam, but a phone call from someone claiming to be Corporal Malcolm Jones from the Lee County Sheriff's Office changed that.

Davis said, "So this happening to me, felt there's a million things you go through, you feel violated, you feel stupid, you feel emotional, you feel scared."

The caller informed her that she had missed jury duty and needed to come to the sheriff's office immediately, threatening that the situation could escalate from a civil to a criminal case if she did not comply.

Detective Charles Chula explained that scams like these occur daily, costing victims thousands of dollars. "A lot of times the scammer tells them to remain on the phone and then go to their bank account, withdraw cash and deposit it into various bitcoin ATMs throughout the city," Chula said.

These bitcoin accounts, often found in smoke shops and gas stations, act like offshore wallets and are difficult for law enforcement to trace.

In one instance, a police officer stopped an elderly man from depositing tens of thousands of dollars into a cryptocurrency ATM on Florida's east coast, with the scammer demanding immediate payment.

Chula said, "The first line of defense is that law enforcement is never going to contact you to submit money over the phones and for a fine. That never happens."

As Davis drove to the sheriff's office, she decided to visit a friend's house, who is an attorney. While on the phone with the scammer, her friend advised her to hang up immediately, recognizing it as a scam.

Davis said, "I'm standing on her front porch, and I've got him on speaker, and he says that's where you take care of the fines and we can do that before you get here. We can save you a trip if you've got some credit card information."

To protect against such scams, it is advised to never answer calls from unknown numbers and to verify any law enforcement contact by looking up the agency's number independently.

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