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Summit County jury duty scam: Warning for residents

Scammers may insist residents will face consequences such as fines, arrest or jail time if they hang up the phone.

AKRON, Ohio — Have you recently received a strange call about jury duty in Summit County?

Authorities have issued a warning for residents to be alert of a scam surrounding jury duty obligations in which a spoof caller falsely claims you have failed to appear and must now pay a fine or post bond to avoid arrest or jail time.

“Recently, some scammers have requested that individuals pay such a fine via Bitcoin and have even shared infographics about judges who accept cryptocurrencies to further coerce residents,” according to a joint press release from Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro and Sheriff Kandy Fatheree. “Please note that Summit County government offices do not ask for and will not accept payments in cryptocurrencies.”

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These scammers may also call residents claiming to be a deputy, possibly using the names and ranks of actual employees and spoofing phone numbers associated with the department so it appears that the call is coming from a real Summit County Sheriff’s Office number.

“Scammers may insist residents will face consequences such as fines, arrest or jail time if they hang up the phone to coerce residents to make payments while the call is ongoing,” authorities note.

If you receive a call like this, authorities say to hang up the phone -- even if the call appears to come from a number associated with the Summit County Sheriff. Your next step would be to contact dispatch at 330-643-2181 to verify the call’s legitimacy.

“Please remember, the Sheriff’s Office does not call residents to notify them of outstanding warrants or unpaid fines, nor do they issue warrants for missing a jury summons,” authorities said. “No government agency will ask you for payments with pre-paid credit cards, gift cards, cryptocurrencies, or other similar forms of payment.”

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