14° and Clear
Image
10-29-2025 11:16pm
Two Victims Lose Thousands of Dollars to Scammers after Being Threatened with Arrest, Detention for "Missed Jury Duty"
Darlene Cancell
Editor
After two victims lost a total of $6,700 to scam calls on Monday, October 27th, Norfolk County Sheriff Patrick McDermott and his office are warning residents of an increase in calls by scammers who claim to work for the sheriff or local police department and demand that money be exchanged to avoid arrest, detainment, or other problem for "missed jury duty."
"The Norfolk County Sheriff's Office never makes calls like this, and neither do local police departments," said Sheriff McDermott. He advises that residents should hang up if they receive such a call. If the scammer calls back, hang up again and report the calls to the police, he said.
In one case, after transferring $5,250 in Bitcoin to a scammer, a Sharon resident requested help from the sheriff's office in clearing up an issue about missing jury duty. She had been contacted by someone who led the Sharon resident to believe the person worked for the sheriff's office. The caller informed the woman that she had missed jury duty, and they had a series of conversations that led to the woman making a transfer of money at a Bitcoin kiosk. When the woman hesitated to do so upon seeing a sign on the machine warning people of such scams, the male caller told her that she would be detained for 10-12 days if she refused to follow through. Her transfer of the money was under duress, said the sheriff's office.
In the second case, a Dedham resident reported that someone claiming to be a "lieutenant" with the sheriff's office told her there was a warrant out for her due to missing jury duty, and that failure to pay a bond would result in her arrest and detention for 72 hours. The scammer sent the Dedham resident a fake court document to support his claims, and instructed her to make the payment at a Bitcoin kiosk in Roslindale. She did so, transferring $1,450. Less than two hours after making the transfer, she realized she had been victim to a scam and the woman sought assistance from the sheriff.
Sheriff McDermott and his office hope that by alerting the public to these incidents, people will not be caught off guard and fall victim to these scams.
Thanks to Norfolk County Sheriff for sharing this information with Westwood Minute.
