FORT MYERS, Fla. — On Monday, Lynda Barzee said that a person claiming to be a detective for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office told her she had three warrants for missing jury duty.
“And I had missed jury duty,” said Barzee. Kevin Karnes, the Lee County Clerk of Court told Fox 4 they had two people contact them in one week, all reporting a similar story.
“They were demanding to pay a sum of money in Bitcoin in order to make that go away. Which is not real,” said Karnes.
During that phone call, Lynda Barzee said it can feel very real. “He (the scammer) was being very forceful — he was saying all the right things, and he sounded like a police officer," said Barzee.
"I said you want me to send you money? And he said no and to never do that — that would be a scam. He even called me 'ma'am'. He said he was going to put me through to the bond department and they are going to take the bond from me." She was instructed to write down the amount of $2,900, said Barzee.
Karnes told Fox 4 that this type of communication is a clear indication that the phone call is a scam. “The clerk's office, your local government in its entirety will not communicate with you over the phone,” said Karnes.
Karnes said he believes scammers are taking advantage of what he said is a backlog in the court system of jury cases that had built up over the pandemic. "They (the scammers) are latching on to that idea and trying to fear people into a consequence that doesn't exist,” said Karnes.
Lynda Barzee said she eventually hung up the phone, without paying. “He literally sounded like he could be the captain of a police force but (told me to) never pay anything over the phone,” said Barzee.
A link for more information from the Lee County Clerk of Court can be found by clickinghere.If you are ever curious about a potential scam call, hang up and call that department's main phone number directly.
The number for the Lee County Clerk of Court is (239) 533-5000.
