Oakland County, Mich. – The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office has received reports of scam phone calls being made using the names of sheriff’s office employees where the threat of arrest is made for not showing up to jury duty.

The calls allege a warrant has been issued for the call taker’s arrest because they had not appeared in court for jury duty.

The suspects have proceeded to tell the call takers to pay a fine to take care of the warrant.

Additionally, some residents have received calls from individuals claiming to be Sheriff’s Office employees or IRS agents, alleging that they must pay money to the IRS or they would face being arrested.

“No law enforcement agency will make intimidating phone calls and demand money from citizens,” said Sheriff Michael J. Bouchard. “We ask everyone to be vigilant and to trust your instincts if you receive these types of calls. These phone calls unfortunately target innocent individuals and these scam artists use legitimate names and agencies to try and cheat people out of money.”

The Sheriff’s Office advises if anyone receives a call from anyone from these entities requesting money, either regarding fees to appear for jury duty or owing taxes, they should immediately contact local law enforcement and under no circumstances make payments.

Please see Public Safety on page 5 for non-emergency police phone numbers. — J.N.