Coronavirus has halted York County jury trials: Calls about jury duty are a scam.
A phone scam about jury duty has targeted people in York County.
Police and court officials say there are no jury trials during the stay-at-home emergency, and these scammers are trying to prey on people’s fears.
The scammers claim to be York County Sheriff’s Office deputies of a rank all the way up to the sheriff himself, said Trent Faris, spokesman for the sheriff’s office. The callers then claim the person who answers the call must pay a fine after missing jury service, Faris said.
No deputy would ever call anyone demanding money for any reason, Faris said.
“Scammers prey on fears of someone getting in trouble,” Faris said. “If anyone receives a call like this, do not act out of fear. Hang up. Call us.”
Anyone who receives a call like this is urged to get the number used, hang up, and then call police to file a report, Faris said.
The scam has been used in previous years, but has resurfaced during the coronavirus shutdown, sheriff’s officials said. Deputies have received several reports of the scam in recent days, Faris said.
The sheriff’s office has issued public statements about the scam on its Facebook and Twitter social media pages.
SCAM ALERT: The Jury Duty #scam has popped up. There is NO JURY DUTY while we are under the Home or Work order. If you get a call from someone claiming to be a YCSO Deputy, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, or the Sheriff himself... telling you to pay a fine just hang up #YCSONews pic.twitter.com/rlmz3V03je
— YCSO_SC (@YCSO_SC) April 15, 2020
In March, South Carolina court officials suspended all jury trials because of coronavirus concerns over large group gatherings. That suspension remains in effect for all courts, officials said.
The scam has raised the ire of clerk of court officials in York County who handle legitimate court summons for jury service.
“There are no jury trials going on in York County during this Covid-19 shutdown - period,” said David Hamilton, York County Clerk of Court. “Our office handles all summons for jury service. There are none right now. This is a scam and we want the public to know that.”
Only the clerk of court, and not law enforcement, sends out jury summons, Hamilton said.
All jury trials are also postponed in York County magistrate courts and municipal courts, the S.C. Supreme Court ordered.
Leslie Robinson of the 16th Circuit Solicitor’s Office that handles York and Union counties, said that until the S.C. Supreme Court reinstates jury trials for criminal and civil cases, there are no jury trials. Anyone who wants information about the jury postponement can find official court orders at The South Carolina court system homepage at sccourts.org.
