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St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office Warns Residents Against Scam

Picture of smartphone
Jenny Kane
/
Associated Press
Jenny Kane

A St. Augustine woman is out $421 after falling victim to a telephone scam.

The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office said a con artist used the name of one of the department’s deputies to convince the woman she would be arrested for missing jury duty unless she paid two separate fines totaling a little more than $800.

The $421 Visa debit card she was told to purchase went through while the second debit card for $390 did not.

She was then told she needed to talk with the St. Johns County Clerk of Courts to clear things up.

Authorities said using the real names of county officials made the con appear legitimate.

The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office is reminding residents that law enforcement agencies will never call people on the phone and demand money to avoid arrest.

Contact reporter Cyd Hoskinson at choskinson@wjct.org, 904-358-6351 and on Twitter at @cydwjctnews.

Cyd Hoskinson began working at WJCT on Valentine’s Day 2011.