OAKLAND COUNTY —  Residents are receiving fake phone calls threatening them with arrest for supposedly not showing up to jury service.

Do not believe the calls, says Oakland County Sheriff Michael J. Bouchard.

Callers have given victims false names of people supposedly representing the sheriff’s office and federal law enforcement, along with fraudulent case numbers.

“Just hang up,” Bouchard said. “We continue to get reports of residents being hit with these phony phone calls. The sheriff’s office will never demand immediate payment over the phone. Ever. Just hang up.”

Neither law enforcement nor court officials will ever ask for any kind of immediate payment to avoid arrest, according to Bouchard.

Instead, representatives from both the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Michigan District in Detroit and Oakland County Circuit Court said delinquent jurors would be contacted by mail, never by phone.

– J.G.