BILLINGS — After almost falling victim to a jury duty scam, a Billings man is warning others about what to look for when called by scammers.
A jury duty scam is where a scammer will pose as a sheriff's deputy and tell victims that they have missed jury duty. If they do not pay the fine, they will be arrested. These scams are not new, according to authorities, but evolving in tactics and technology.
That type of scam is something Jeremy Page never thought he would be tangled up in, as he is no stranger to spotting such tactics. He works as a cyber security professional but found himself unprepared for a phone call he received on Monday from what he believed to be two deputies from the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office.
“He told me that there were a couple of warrants out for my arrest, and that immediately shocked me," said Page.
He was told he had missed jury duty, and the scammers claimed they received a signed summons from him that he owed $3,000 in fines. If he failed to pay or hung up the phone, deputies would come to his home and arrest him immediately. Unable to pay the money right away, he panicked but was told that he would qualify for their "hardship" program, meaning he could pay half now, but would have to provide photo identification.
He then told the man he would have to call his wife to access the money. After some convincing, he was allowed to get off the call as long as he promised he would call back in 15 minutes. In a panic, Page phoned his wife to come home.
“I started having the ability to start processing some of these things that they were telling me that just didn't add up," said Page.
He called the number listed on the sheriff's office website and was immediately told that there were no deputies by the names who had called him.
"She says, 'What's going on?' I said, well, this is what's happening, and I told her about the call. She said, 'Sir, you're being scammed,'” said Page.
It is a scam that Yellowstone County officials say is all too common.
“Several times a month I do get these calls, and I'm always very thankful when someone calls and asks. I'd rather take the time and tell them, 'No, it's a scam,'” said Bernie Wahl, the senior deputy jury clerk for Yellowstone County District Court.
Wahl has worked in her position for nearly 10 years and has seen all ages be targeted by these scams, and the calls do not seem to slow down. Wahl said she had received a call asking to verify if a jury scam call was real only an hour before her interview with MTN News.
“They go on cycles, so I might have three months where it's a whole bunch of these scams and then nothing for a month,” said Wahl.
One Wahl has seen pop up the past few years is scammers convincing victims they are from the U.S. District Court and have a similar message.
“It seems lately the big jury duty is you've missed U.S. District Court. They don't do this either, but if they do, they would have a federal marshal, not a sheriff,” warned Wahl.
Scammers will use a position of authority to scare people into believing what they are hearing, something Page was not prepared for.
"They shock you with information that puts you in a panic, and once they have you in that state of mind in a state of panic, you're not thinking clearly," said Page. “It just goes to show, scammers, they don't care. They don't care about you. They don't have a conscience. This is exactly what they want to do."
At the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office, they are also flooded with calls each week just like Page's.
“You can pick and choose any topic you want in the legal system, and there's a scam on it," said Yellowstone County Undersheriff Robert Lester. “We're not going to take you to jail for failure to pay a fee. With the jail overcrowding that we're facing here in Yellowstone County, failure to miss jury duty is not going to be the top of the priority.”
While missing jury duty has been an ongoing problem for the agency, they will never ask for money over the phone.
“I might call you and say, 'Hey, you missed to fill out your jury paperwork.' That is legit. You will get phone calls from the sheriff's office saying your jury paperwork was not turned in. 'Can you meet up with us? Can I come serve it? Meet with Bernie at district court.' Those are legit, but the minute I ask you for money in lieu of being arrested, that should be the alert signal," said Lester. "Contact the agency through a number that you trust, a direct source, not a number they give you, and call and verify. If you want to call and see if you have a warrant, we'll tell you."
Other warning signs are scammers asking you to buy gift cards or pay in Bitcoin, which government officials will never ask for.
According to Page, the scammers had an answer for every question he had, deputy names, phone numbers, how much jail time he would serve, and by the end, he was sure he was going to jail. While he was luckily stopped before losing thousands, he knows the scammers are already looking for their next victim. He hopes his story can serve as a reminder that it can happen to anyone.
“I can't emphasize this enough. If someone falls for this, they are not gullible. They are not unintelligent, but these people are very aggressive," said Wahl.
“Anybody that's not paying attention can fall for this. I'm proof right there," said Page. “Just keep your wits about you. If it sounds fishy, it probably is, and hang up on them."
