Ross Township resident loses $8,000 to jury duty scam
A Ross Township resident lost more than $8,000 in a jury duty scam that's making the rounds, the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office warned on Thursday.
The sheriff's office said the victim got a call from a number that appeared to be the office's with the caller ID "Allegheny Cnty Sheriffs Dept."
The victim was told an arrest warrant had been issued because they had failed to show up for jury duty, but the victim had never gotten an official notice.
The caller asked for $8,550 in bitcoin in order to clear the warrant, and the sheriff's office said the victim complied. The funds were traced to Binance in France, which the sheriff's office says is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.
Authorities haven't been able to isolate the account that received the funds, but the sheriff's office said the Ross Township police are investigating.
The Washington County Sheriff's Office also put out a similar warning on Thursday, saying scammers have been calling residents about missing jury duty.
The scammers, pretending to be Sgt. Leonard or Sgt. Gerrans, tell victims they'll face contempt charges unless they come to the courthouse and pay a fine outside. They're also told that they can't tell anyone about it because there's a gag order.
Both sheriff's offices say they will never call people on the phone and ask for payment.
"Our office also DOES NOT use any sort of electronic transfer of funds when dealing with warrants or fines, including the use of Venmo, Zelle and other phone apps, nor would we ask for payments in gift cards or cryptocurrency," the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office wrote on Facebook.
"Should you receive this type of call from someone claiming to be from our office, PLEASE DO NOT HAND OVER ANY MONEY and immediately report it to our investigations division at (412) 350-4709."
