Hanover, VA – On February 22, 2016 the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office responded to multiple phone scams. A phone scam is reoccurring in Hanover County where an unknown person(s) is contacting unsuspecting citizens claiming to be a representative with the Sheriff’s Office. The unknown person is claiming that the citizen has missed jury duty and/or a civil court case and now owes immediate payment. The unknown person is asking for citizens to purchase a pre-paid credit card, from a local business, to avoid arrest.
Multiple citizens received a call from someone claiming to be with the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, or some other law enforcement agency who claimed that the citizen or a family member have missed jury duty. The unknown male sounded very convincing and seemed to know a lot about the victim, and the caller ID may have been altered to appear as a local phone number. The caller warned the victims that if they did not provide payment for missing jury duty or a civil court case they would be served with an arrest warrant.
As a reminder the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office will never contact a citizen and demand payment.
Criminals will prey on unsuspecting citizens and attempt to legitimize their call by saying they are a deputy with the Sheriff’s Office or even spoofing our telephone number. We want our citizens to know that the Hanover Sheriff’s Office will never call them about missed jury duty or missed court cases. If you ever have any question as to the identity of a caller representing themselves as an employee of the Sheriff’s Office, please contact the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office immediately.

If you are a victim of a recent scam related to claims that you have missed jury duty or a civil court case, contact the Sheriff’s Office immediately by calling (804) 365-6140.