The Justice of the Peace Court is warning the public about a telephone scam where calls appear to be coming from a Justice of the Peace Court telephone number and a caller then demands bail money to secure the release of a relative.
The Justice of the Peace Court will not call individuals and request payment of a loved one’s bail. Any calls of that nature would come from the loved one themselves and not a court employee. Justice of the Peace Court employees will never call the relatives of someone being held on bail and demand payment over the phone.
The court has received a number of complaints from citizens who have received these bogus phone calls. The scammers are using a hacking technique known as “spoofing” that captures a Justice of the Peace Court number.
The calls begin with the scammers claiming that a person’s son or grandson is in jail and that they need $500 to secure their release. According to those who have received the calls, when they attempt to get more information from the caller, the call is disconnected.
As a general rule, no one should never provide his or her credit card or bank account information to anyone on a call they did not originate.
In recent years this type of phone scam has become common, most recently with callers claiming to be with the Internal Revenue Service and demanding immediate payment over the phone.
Detectives with Capitol Police have been notified and are investigating the phone calls. If you have been victimized by this scam, or need more information, contact Mark Hitch with the Justice of the Peace Court at the below number.
