Kings County law enforcement warns residents of fake deputies seeking payments

Over the past few weeks, the Kings County Sheriff's Office has received numerous reports of phone scams throughout the county.  Often the calls vary slightly in nature, but the scammers typically identify themselves as law enforcement and are seeking money. 

One such scam is when the caller identifies himself as a sergeant with the Kings County Sheriff's Office working with the county courts system. The scammer informs the victims of various scenarios such as they have open cases with the Kings County Superior Court and that money is still due, or they have missed jury duty and arrest warrants will be issued if penalty payments are not made.

The scammer then asks the victims for personal information such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, and other personal information.

In a second scam, the caller identifies himself as an attorney and informs the victims they have been ignoring notices and that a case will be filed with the Kings County District Attorney's Office.  The caller then demands the victim put money on a pre-paid card and provide the card number to the caller to prevent the case from being filed.  The caller insists the money be provided via a pre-paid card and will not be accepted any other way.

When a warrant is issued for a person who resides in Kings County, the Kings County Sheriff's Office or other local agencies, typically visit homes to locate the warrant suspect. 

The Kings County Sheriff's Office never sends letters and only occasionally makes phone calls regarding warrants but never demands money to clear a warrant.

When a jury duty summons is issued, the summons it is mailed approximately 10 days prior to the service date.  The summons contains information and instructions on how to have jury service postponed; how to request to be excused from jury service, or how to notify the court of disqualification from jury service.  

If you receive a call and you're unsure about it, the best thing to do is not provide any information to the caller.  Simply hang up and call the Sheriff's Office at (559) 584-9276. 

If you have any questions regarding your jury duty status, you can contact the Kings County Jury Commissioner's office at (559) 582-1010 extension 1501.

Anyone with any information regarding these scams are urged to contact Detective Hofmans with the Kings County Sheriff's Office at (559) 852-4554.