Klamath County Sheriff Warns of New Jury-Duty Scam Where Callers Pose as Deputies and Demand Cash Payments

KLAMATH COUNTY, Ore. — The Klamath County Sheriff’s office warned of a scam doing the rounds in the county: scammers posing as deputies claim you have a warrant for missing jury duty and tell you to pay to avoid arrest.

Three separate reports of the new scam targeting residents were received this week, including calls from the 541 area code.

Callers say they are “Deputies from the Sheriff’s Office” and say you have an arrest warrant for missing jury duty- but suggest you pay to avoid being arrested.

The scammer tells the victim to go to the bank and withdraw cash, then texts pictures of barcodes and tells the victim to go to stores like Fred Meyer, Walmart, Dollar General, and Dollar Tree to have the cashier scan those codes. The barcodes are actually for Vanilla prepaid debit cards.

The scammer, who stays on the phone the whole time, tells the victim what to say and threatens to arrest them if they hang up. Victims have been kept on the call for over four hours before being told to drive to the Sheriff’s Office with their proof of payment. As soon as they arrive, the scammer hangs up.

These are fake warrants, documents, and barcodes that scammers are using. Law enforcement will never demand payment over the phone or request prepaid debit cards. If you receive a call like this, hang up immediately and contact your local Sheriff’s Office directly.