RICHMOND, Va. -- The Richmond City Sheriff’s Office is warning of a scam that’s after your personal information and money.
A local dentist received repeated calls to her busy practice from an 804-220-5522 number.
“She had received a phone call from the Richmond office a Captain Roland stating she needed to give them a call back stating that she missed jury duty,” said Richmond City Sheriff Antionette Irving. “The gentleman stated to her that she had failed to come to jury duty and there was a failure to appear out for her and she needed to pay $1,996.52.”
Investigators say she was instructed to report to 1710 Fairfield Way to pay her fines. An address that does not exist.
The victim, who does not want to be identified, said she grew concerned when the caller had her personal address and started asking for more. She says she also became suspicious when the caller refused to answer her questions and told her she was to appear in federal court.
“She was pretty upset. She told him she was going to call her attorney and other things. She was going to do so. She felt threatened by the information he had asked her and felt threatened that she had done something wrong, when she had not,” said Sheriff Irving.
When you call the 804-220-5522 number here is the recording you will receive:
“If this is an emergency please hang up the phone and call 911.
This is the Richmond City Sheriff’s department civil warrants division. Please leave a detailed message and one of our deputy sheriff’s will return your call.”
“We will not call you and state that we’re going to arrest you, find you or have you to meet us anywhere to pay any fines or fees or any funds,” explained Irving. “Please do not, do not I repeat, respond to these kind of phone calls, other than hanging up.”
Richmond City Sheriff Antionette Irving
The sheriff called the number herself Wednesday to investigate and got hung up on twice.
“Please do not call our citizens and threaten them with going to jail or paying fines because you are not a deputy here at the sheriff’s office. You do not work for the sheriff’s office and we want you to stop,” said Sheriff Irving.
The sheriff says the person(s) responsible could face charges.
If you have been a victim of this scam you are asked to report it to the Richmond City Sheriff’s Office at 804-646-4464.
